Leaving a Legacy
by Maloire
Summary: An exploration of some of the characters, mainly Laguna, the history we don't explicitly see in the game. Enter: Edea, Dobe, Adel...
1. Family Matters

**Disclaimer:** Squaresoft/Square Enix owns all the Final Fantasy characters/references/places etc.

**Table of Contents** (as of May 1, 2012)**:**

**Prologue**  
**Ch. 1 - 4:** Childhood Arc.  
**Ch. 5:** Meet Ward. Updates from Esthar.  
**Ch. 6:** Rise of political leaders: Adel and Deling. Updates on Cid, Edea, Laguna...

-*****-

_Home. The dictionary defines it as both a place of origin and a goal or destination. And the storm? The storm was all in my mind. Or as the poet Dante put it, 'In the middle of the journey of my life, I found myself in a dark wood, for I had lost the right path.' Eventually I would find the right path, but in the most unlikely place._

Hunter Patch Adams (Movie: Patch Adams)

.0o0.

**Prologue **

I turn at the steady press of footfalls as Balamb Garden's commander enters my office. The doors give their expected 'swoosh' as they close automatically. Seriously, I don't think I'll ever get tired of hearing that sound effect. Swoosh!

"You look like you could use some sun." I nod towards my son's too-pale-to-be-too-healthy complexion. It's a bit of a running joke, me trying to counsel him on living a balanced life when my own staff alternate between hunting me down within the city and kicking me out of the office to get some rest. With all the turmoil he's been through in his life already, I doubt I can give him much advice on trying to live normally. Like there's such a thing anyway.

Squall raises an eyebrow coolly at my comment, "You've been taking too much time off in Dollet."

Taken aback I scratch my head. "How'd you... Hey! I was only there for work purposes! Ask Kiros if you don't believe me!"

That earns me a nonchalant, "Right."

"Honest!" I've got a hand on one hip and the other one's waving energetically. It's a bad habit. Ward claims that it's distracting during meetings. My response to Ward is 'I don't force you to go to meetings (usually), so whatever, man.'

I busy myself by shifting some papers off the couch so he can have a place to sit. "But, how'd you know I was there?"

"You have a tan. Esthar is in the middle of its rainy season and Dollet is experiencing a heat wave." I'm thankful that his SeeD duties haven't worn out his patience enough for him to add a sarcastic 'Obviously.' I'm also thankful that Squall's not usually prone to being sarcastic.

"And, you brought another souvenir mug home." He points to the blatant evidence on my desk.

Papers in hand, I stare at it having forgotten it was there. "Dang."

In my defence, it's a pretty rad mug. The handle's just the right size, it's not too heavy, and the design was irresistible. It's not like I spent taxpayer money on it; I make sure I tell him so. Squall closes his eyes before shaking his head. Having no idea how to interpret that gesture, I take it as admission to defeat.

Pausing in my victory, I fling the collection of miscellaneous paperwork down without giving it a second thought and offer him a seat before taking one for myself. "We just got new furniture, which was _way_ overdue in my humble opinion, and this couch my secretary chose is just superb."

From his secure distance from the seemingly harmless piece of furniture, Squall gives the cushions a quick inspection for explosives, electronic bugs or whatever other dastardly ploys he has been trained to detect. Fortunately it appears that the comfy seat I'm sitting on is up to Garden standards. After settling down I realize something still bothers me from his previous comment. "You know, it's funny. I've never really thought of this as 'home'." I wave an arm at the room's expanse.

"Really? Even after two decades?" His voice holds a slight inflection of humour so I stick my tongue out at him.

"You're making me feel old!" He looks like he's about to expand on that but I cut him off. It's a good thing Kiros wasn't in the room, _he_ wouldn't have let that opportunity to mock me pass by. Not that he's _that_ much younger. "Nah, never really thought about it 'til recently. But, now that I have, it's just... missing something. Know what I mean?"

Without toning down his intensity, Squall sits back, finding a more comfortable position in the dark suede; it takes some time to break-in quality furnishings. He answers in a contemplative manner. "I guess."

"I think there's only one place I've ever considered home. Despite a lot of things, it just felt..." I scan my vocabulary for the perfect word. "right. How 'bout you, Squall?"

"I'm not sure if it's the same..." He pauses; my guess is to search for the precise words too. Squall may not say much but he sure puts a lot of thought into making the ones he chooses count. "I grew up as an orphan."

I could hit myself. Or shoot myself, preferably in a non-vital area. How could I be so insensitive? Jumping up I begin to babble, "Oh sh- I'm sorry, Squall! I didn't mean - "

Squall sits forward and raises a hand to cut off my outburst. "That's not what I meant. I had a good place to grow up. It wasn't always easy but the people I met at Matron's orphanage... we're still friends today. I'm thankful for that."

"I'm glad to hear that." I rest a hand over my chest, mostly out of habit and partly to reassure my heart it can calm down. Crisis averted. "You can't have too many friends."

"Which reminds me, Selphie says 'Hi.' I told her she should tell you herself since she's in the city." Squall says it with a touch of annoyance but I can tell there's a smile in his eyes. They're a good bunch of kids.

"Right, right, I'll have to run into her later! Hey, have you eaten lunch yet? That clock says it's later than I expected and my tummy's feeling rumbly."

Squall shakes his head slightly, "I didn't have time. Rinoa wanted to get up early to go shopping with the others. I was in a meeting with Cid until an hour ago."

"Ah, busy as always! I've just been snacking on junk and could use something warm... Wanna go check what's going on in the kitchen?"

"It's not a big deal; I don't want to get in the way." He looks hesitant, but there's no way I'm gonna let my kid starve!

"Nah, don't think twice about it! I bet no one'd dare to give you a scolding, not with you being Mr. Responsible and all." Before he can protest further, I'm grabbing his forearm and yanking him onto his feet.

"Clearly you haven't met Kadowaki." Squall readjusts his sleeves when I let go.

"Huh? Is that a friend of yours?" I rush to my desk to lock the user account on my computer; Ward gets on my case for leaving it unprotected. "C'mon, let's head downstairs!"

"She's the medical practitioner..."

As we're entering the lift Squall elaborates about who's who at Balamb Garden. It takes me a moment to realize how crazy, amazing, and downright lucky I am to be having this conversation. Today is built on accidents, understanding, boundaries, trust, and dare I say friendship?

Months ago, I would've been stammering from the get go and rambling horribly. Most likely, he would have been quiet, rigid, and professional beyond his years. But now, look at the two of us; totally relaxed (minus the occasional mishap, with me usually to blame) and actually talking about personal stuff.

Squall's cocking his head, eyes squinting minutely in the fashion which implies that I've spaced out and missed what he was saying - again.

I laugh, shaking bangs out of my eyes, and apologize. The barest of smiles, but a genuine one - which is all that matters really, flickers across his features. We leave the lift and he goes on to tell me about his home at the Garden.

* * *

_Once upon a time we had a lot to fight for  
We had a dream, we had a plan  
Sparks in the air, we spread a lot of envy  
Didn't have to care once upon a time..._

I'll sail away, it's time to leave  
Rainy days, are yours to keep  
Fade away, the night is calling my name  
You will stay, I'll sail away.

The Rasmus - "Sail Away"

.0o0.

**Chapter 1 - Family Matters**

He could hear her singing even through the front door. Sighing, he pressed his forehead against the worn wood, painted an exceedingly exuberant yellow. Another deep breath cleared his body condensing on contact with the winter air; it looked like a cartoon rendition of a wispy spirit leaving the grave.

_Why can't I come home to a quiet house for once?_ With effort Callado straightened and adjusted his cap, internally berating himself for such rash petulance. Thoughts along those lines had become more frequent lately but he was thankful that none of them had grown to be audible. His personal stress level at work had risen and was probably the cause... And yet it wasn't like there had been an onslaught of tasks.

_No, it's not the work itself... but rather my own inability to get anything done._ By no means was Callado a stupid man, sometimes a stickler for rules and chasing the details until they fit perfectly, but certainly not daft. He frowned; it felt like the final year of high school all over again. All the subjects had pulled his interest and he'd signed up for everything he could - just because it felt like he would succeed. For a while he had managed to balance it all. There was something deliciously addictive in the rush of simultaneously tackling and accomplishing all the assignments and many were completed before they were due. However, just as his teachers feared, he crashed at the end of the year. Little things had piled up and he faltered. On the account of his strong effort for the majority of the work submitted, they let him pass everything, albeit with lower marks than he was happy with - an action that he took to be their way of indicating pity.

Callado disentangled his key ring, trying to distinguish the proper one in the afternoon's fading light. He was no longer in his teens. No, now he was among the other working parents trying to keep their families afloat on meagre Dollet wages. Now that the deadlines were looming again, Callado knew there would be no free pass and it wouldn't be just him who suffered. _I can't let my wife and son down! I can't..._ And yet, he also couldn't seem to control the opposing waves of panic, and strangely, indifference. It was all a bit disconcerting, distracting and darn-right confusing. No wonder he couldn't get any work done.

Shaking his head, Callado entered the house and shut the door on the dying wind behind him. Wild giggling accompanied his wife's voice. _No, Quiet no longer pays visits to our household._ This time he thought it with a small smile. _I'm pretty sure Quiet avoids us like the plague._

Part of him, an admittedly growing part, was reluctant to announce his arrival. He hung his coat up and carefully removed his hat. The velvet was comforting and he braced himself as the pitter-patter of bare feet sped around a corner towards the foyer.

"Daddy!" The little boy rushed over to greet him. A flash of green eyes, bright against flushed cheeks, were hidden quickly as the boy rammed into his legs. His wife rounded the corner and looked up in surprise to see him in the doorway.

"Laguna." He smoothed down his son's wayward hair, silently willing the tyke to let go and allow his circulation to flow again.

Riada grinned despite her husband's lack of enthusiasm and pecked a kiss to his cheek. "Welcome home."

* * *

Dinner was the usual affair, a home cooked meal (slightly rushed due to Laguna pestering his mother incessantly) and cheery chatter. Riada snuck another look at her husband from behind a wavy lock of hair; he had fallen into his more silent set of behaviours and was eating mechanically. After marrying Callado, it was obvious that the joyous and carefree demeanour she fell in love with wasn't a constant but she had also never seen him so disheartened before. Apprehension was practically radiating off his shoulders. Thankfully, their son hadn't picked up on any of this, but then again he was only five.

Laguna was busily mashing his potatoes into a mountain of mush, pristine fork forgotten on the tablecloth. _At least he ate most of his green vegetables..._ She forced herself to not roll her eyes as a few blobs of white flew past her face; Hyne forbid that she should pass on her bad habits.

"Are you still hungry, 'guna?" He shook his head and drew a happy face in the mash. Riada pulled a few fingers through her bangs to shake the carbohydrates loose. "Alright then, let's go to the kitchen and clean up. C'mon bring your plate, Munchkin."

After rinsing off the plates and her son, she sent him off to play upstairs in his room. Callado had pushed his plate away and was staring through the dining room window; eyes darkened to teal and much too serious for her liking. A small flock of Thrustaevis chicks were scuttling alongside their neighbour's fence, diligently following behind one parent as the second stayed alert overhead. Riada approached him and hugged his shoulders.

"You're so tense! Another hard day?" She smiled brightly, the light overhead haloing her auburn tresses, but he didn't look up.

"You could say that." It was getting dark outside; the sun had forfeited the sky to the other stars. There were patches of snow scattered across their backyard although most of them had turned to a brown slush. One fledgling stumbled in the dusk. Its guardian sent a gust of wind down to clear the path ahead. Old man MacArthur would not be pleased to see the newly installed window in his fence, especially with it being at ankle-level.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She paused in her massage trying to decipher his morose mood.

"No." He didn't want to be there right now. Even though their son was being quiet in the other room, the house felt crowded in his mind. Maybe it was guilt, or shame?

"Do you want to play some cards or something? I can make dirty jokes until you smile..." When he didn't respond she stepped away, "Callado! I don't know what's gotten into you lately, you're so distant. I'm sorry dinner wasn't the best it could be, but I was busy with Laguna... Maybe if you could be home more you wouldn't be so stressed out!"

"I can't talk about this now." He got up and headed for his den, avoiding her dejected expression.

* * *

A little more than a week later, Riada was driving along the coast wishing the top could be put down so the evening air could whip through her unrestrained bangs. The rebellious part of her was quite tempted, but her motherly instincts were spoiling the moment by reminding her Laguna was asleep in the back and would probably get sick. It was still winter after all. She sighed, adjusted the heat vent and rolled her window down a tad to defog the windshield.

_Things will be alright. Malgo Peninsula was getting cramped anyway._ That was something she had in common with Callado, a fear of being boxed in. She frowned and rolled the window back up. It wouldn't do to dwell on thoughts of the past. _But is it possible to forget someone you love?_

She bit her lip and changed the radio station to anything with a rock beat. This was for the best. She was doing it for her family. "For what's left of it anyway," Riada couldn't help but mutter aloud.

"Whazat?" A sleepy head peered from behind the front passenger seat. His hair was in an equal state of disarray.

"Nothing, 'guna. Did you have a good dream?" She kept her eyes on the dirt trail that passed for a road.

"I think there was a pirate this time." He said with a yawn.

"Did he sing silly songs? Ones about dancing and colourful birds on palm trees?"

"Maybe. There might've been treasure too!"

She smiled at his lisp, "Alright. Well, go back to your dreams. We'll be further in the Dollet district by the time you wake up! Maybe near the river."

"An' then it'll be my birthday?" He was already getting drowsy.

"Yep, and we'll have a humongous birthday cake! And all sorts of games to play. Dream about that, 'kay?" She gripped the steering wheel with more force than necessary and parted with the coast; couldn't risk getting the rental stuck in the sand.

-*****-

(Jan. 3, 2010)  
**Author's Notes:**

Sorry for the somewhat bleak beginning! I'm going to try not to be too melodramatic, since that's not the reason for writing this fic... My goal is to explore some of the characters (mainly Laguna), like the history we don't really see in the game. I do want to cover certain events that are referred to in the game (like the scene where Ellone puts jam in Laguna's boots), so hope this works out. I'm going to try to keep the original characters to a minimum, 'cuz I'm terrible at figuring out names, and those that do pop up will be there for a reason (like Laguna's parents).

Anyway, I toyed with the idea of working from the game's completion and incorporating flashbacks, but I don't think my writing skills are sophisticated enough for that. Plus, it may be less confusing to just work with a straight timeline for the most part (and since Laguna's one of the older characters we're starting there).

PS Happy birthday, Laguna ^_^


	2. Growing Pains

_Been beat up, been broken down_  
_Nowhere but up_  
_when you're facedown_  
_On the ground. _  
_I'm in last place, if I place at all_  
_But there's hope for this underdog..._

Audio Adrenaline - "Underdog"

.0o0.

**Chapter 2 - Growing Pains**

"Hurry!" The hint of panic in her voice increased the speed of his frantic fumbling.

"Oh! D'you know where my socks went?" He cried in desperation.

"They're in the bin by the laundry room. Quick! Or you'll miss the bus!" His mother tucked a brown paper bag of lunch into a blue sack and passed it off to him as he sped by with half of a coat thrown on.

"Thanks!" Laguna jammed his shoes on and grabbed a pair of socks, stuffing them into his coat pocket as he slipped an arm through the second sleeve and shouldered the bag. Not bothering to do up the buttons, he hurled himself out the door and bolted down the path. Riada waved at his back and closed the door with a smile.

"Why, oh why, did I choose today of all days to sleep in?" When he came out of the nestled neighbourhood and onto the streets, he paused to tuck in his shirt, thankful that snow was no longer in the forecast.

"Huh, and how'd I manage to put a belt on the wrong way?" The worn-out leather was inverted so that the clasp wouldn't close properly. He spied a couple of people patiently waiting at the bus stop. "Oh well, at least the bus hasn't passed by yet!"

As if on cue, the deep rumble of a standard Galbadian bus reached his ears. Giving a yelp he took off for the pick-up area, undone belt forgotten and left flopping with the effort of a nine-year-old's run. Seconds later he made it just in time, gave a rushed 'Thank you' and collapsed onto the first open seat. Ignoring the amused stares of the other passengers, Laguna pulled the socks out of his pocket and proceeded to catch his breath.

_Man, school had better be worth it..._

* * *

Mrs. Bentley was a nice lady. Not too strict but still able to hold her own in the classroom arena (rumour had it that she could shoot lasers from her eyes if provoked enough). Unfortunately, she favoured subjects like verb conjugations, a topic dull on its own, but especially so when held just before lunch.

Someone's stomach growled eliciting quiet giggles and helping to refocus eyes. "Alright class, let's stop there so I can assign you your tasks for tomorrow." Mrs. Bentley's glasses reflected the light of the projector she was bent over, making it seem like she had the large, glowing eyes of a Blobra - only not quite as menacing.

The bell dismissed them just as her overhead projector dimmed and the last notebook shut. Laguna launched himself towards the cloakroom trying not to trip on chairs along the way. Still, sitting farthest from the door meant that he couldn't beat the swarm. Their teacher shook her head and packed up her teaching materials.

He stood on his tiptoes to see above the crowd, "Hey, Jimmy! Have you seen my bag? I coulda sworn I had it in my cubby..."

"Nope! See ya!" The other brunette bustled off with his friends.

"Huh." Hands on his hips, Laguna scanned the wooden compartments for his pack as the majority of his classmates filtered out.

"Whatcha lookin' for, Shortstuff?" A sharp voice came from behind.

Laguna jerked his head, hitting it on the bench he'd been looking under. "Owww..."

"Hey, Vance. Lookie what I found." A dirty-blonde nodded towards his taller redhead counterpart.

"Tch, some poor slob must've dropped their lunch, Rudy!" Vance adjusted his cap to shift long bangs from his eyes.

"Oh... hey! That's mine!" Laguna paused in rubbing his head at the sight of his blue bag. It had a noticeable boot print on it.

"Well, ain't you lucky that we came by? Here!" The third boy in Vance's posse kicked the bag just out of Laguna's reach.

"Nice one, Reynolds." The three snickered. Reynolds was a stocky kid who chose to have his head shaved instead of fussing with hair. He wasn't known for being overly sociable either.

"Oh! Found you!" A skinny blonde skidded to a stop just outside the room and tilted his head. "Why're you on the floor?"

"Just gettin' my lunch, Lazuli." Laguna hoisted himself up, ignoring one of the bully's derisive snorts.

"Oh." His friend peered in the doorway and took in the situation with darting eyes. "...! Ah..."

"Nice of you to join us, Crybaby." Reynolds made to move towards the newcomer.

"Aww man! My juice box exploded!" Laguna exclaimed, holding up the remains of a mangled carton.

Vance guffawed and led his gang out of the room just ahead of Mrs. Bentley. "Enjoy your lunch, Runt."

The trio pushed past Lazuli with little resistance. Reynolds grunted and shoved his hands in his pockets; they were a strange tinge of pink.

"Donﾒt stay in here all lunch hour, boys." Mrs. Bentley readjusted her glasses and made her way to the staff room.

"You okay?" The blonde asked when the coast was clear.

"Yeah, no worries. It's just my sandwich and homework who're the victims." Laguna made a face and tossed the bleeding box into the garbage. "Gotta thank mom for packing my PB&J in plastic wrap, whew!"

Lazuli unwrapped a granola bar and spoke around a mouthful, "What happened though? Those things don't usually blow up like pop cans!"

"Ah, bag must've fallen. Doesn't matter." Laguna wiped a hand on his pants, "Where d'ya want to eat?"

"Mmmm, word is that Vance and those guys like to hang out by the cafeteria on hotdog days. We can head to the lower fields since it's not slushy any more. Play some ball or somethin'. But, man, I wish something could be done about 'em." The blonde dropped the wrapper into the garbage can and rifled through his knapsack. "Anyway, you wanna get another drink first?" Clearing his throat, the slim boy rubbed an apple on his shirt.

"Nah, think I'll rinse my bag out though... it's all sticky. Heh, but at least my homework looks cooler now. It's like art! Smells better too."

"Dunno if you'll score any points with your teach' that way." Lazuli rolled his eyes and bit into his fruit.

"Wonder if Mrs. Bentley likes grape..."

* * *

At long last the final bell rang signalling the outgoing tidal wave of children from the school. By the time Laguna reached the cloak room half the class was out the door. He breathed a sigh of relief at the absence of red hair.

"Laguna! My dad's coming by to pick me up, wanna ride?" Lazuli called out from the hall, weaving through the crowd.

"Seriously, how d'you get all the way to my classroom so fast? I just got back here!" Laguna packed up his bag, it still smelled fruity but at least it wasn't sopping wet anymore.

"Hahah! I may be small but I got speed!" His friend gave a wide grin and punched the air, barely missing an innocent bystander. "So, you comin'?"

"Nah, it's okay. I'll see ya tomorrow though!" He grabbed his jacket and threw it on.

"See ya!" They waved before going their separate ways.

Laguna headed for the bus loop. The bus he took in the morning came on an hourly basis meaning that the next one wouldn't be coming for another forty-five minutes. It was better to take a different route on the way home even though the closest stop was a bit over two blocks from his house. One good thing about the trip was that he passed by the docks along the river and the old abandoned train station. Laguna was pretty certain he'd seen a Chocobo nosing around that area earlier in the school year and wanted to see if it would ever come back.

"Yo! Pipsqueak!" Vance and his sidekick Rudy came around the bend. "Glad to see you waitin' for us."

"What're you talking about? I'm just heading home." Laguna glanced around; most kids lived close by or were picked up by their parents. His mom worked in another area of town and they didn't have a car, so he relied on public transit.

_Oh man, oh man, I hope they're not here to mug me._Although he wasn't quite as short as Lazuli he didn't have the speed to outrun Vance. Rudy wasn't much of a threat on his own, it was doubtful if the kid could outwit a Funguar, but Laguna wasn't sure that he had the strength to take them both on at the same time.

Vance leaned against the bus' stop sign. "Didja hear about Reynolds? He just got suspended for vandalizing a bunch of houses 'nd stuff."

"Uh, no. Why're you tellin' me?" _Where's that bus?_

"Some snitch gave his name to the headmaster." Rudy added. He was an odd kid with eyes a bit too far apart and a nose that looked like it had been broken and not set straight.

_I wonder if he was born that way...?_Laguna tried not to stare.

Rudy had little muscle mass and even less of a spine. But whatever he lacked physically, his dad made up for in a cash allowance - hence his tagalong bond with Vance. Vance was the stereotypical bully; he should have been several grade levels ahead but was held back, much to the dismay of teachers and students alike. He didn't care though, there was more fun to be had that way.

"Well, it wasn't me, man. I was busy cleaning my bag from lunch. Did you know that mixing soap with juice-"

"Don't care." Vance stood up straight, "Listen up; I want someone to fill in for Reynolds. You in?"

"Wha..? Me?"

"Well, duh! Why d'you think we're talkin' to you?" The dirty blonde rolled his eyes.

"But I dunno anything about being in your club or whatever." Laguna shook his head before raising an eyebrow, "And besides, all you do is bug me and the other kids. Why should I join you?"

Rudy crossed his arms impatiently, "Pshh, if you're one of us _obviously_we're not gonna hassle you! C'mon use a brain."

Vance cut in, "But to get in our gang we gotta see if you got what it takes." He nodded toward the road, "Here comes the bus."

The other two boys hopped on first and waved off the fare, saying that their _friend_would pay for both of them. Laguna frowned, his mother had given him a set amount of change in order to get to school and back for the week, but he couldn't afford to miss the bus either.

_Why, oh why, didn't I go with Lazuli? Darn you Chocobo._He handed over the gil as the vehicle heaved forward with a groan.

Vance gave his signature haughty smirk as Laguna approached them to take the only seat left, "You're in for a treat. We're gonna show you our secret clubhouse."

"It's top secret stuff. So don't go blabbing it around, got it?" Rudy chimed in.

"...okay... is it along this route? 'Cause I never see you guys taking the bus down this way, and I'm always taking this route... I get off at the end of the rails not too far from here."

Vance elbowed Rudy in the ribs to muffle a snicker. "That's 'cause it's a _secret_. And who says _we_need to take a bus to get here. We've got the first models of O-boards to hit the street. Those'll get you anywhere in no time. But since you ain't got one we thought we'd use the bus this time."

The three disembarked a few stops after the docks and headed along the train tracks.

"Move it." Vance took the lead. Eventually they wound up at a site between the shore and the deserted train station.

"Get the door, Rudy." Vance jerked a thumb towards a shack just off to the side of a modest house. It was slightly smaller than a body shop or garage and Vance's blood red insignia was spray painted along the side facing them. He turned towards Laguna, "This is it. We're gonna give you a test now. A simple one. You better do as I say."

Before Laguna could reply, Rudy returned wearing a lopsided grin. He pocketed a wire and slipped his mitts back on, "I got the lock off."

"Good." Vance shoved the door open and strode in.

Laguna wandered in behind him admiring small gadgets along one of the walls. It was pretty organized with a variety of tools hanging on pegs and circuit boards in tidy piles. A dim bulb served as the main light source since the dust on the small windows choked any sunlight trying to shine through them.

The redhead dragged a chair to the middle of the shack. "You get to sit there and close your eyes. Got it?"

The sound pulled Laguna from his musings. "What?"

"Short _and_deaf! Just do it." The other two had drawn closer to the door, effectively blocking the only exit.

Rudy crossed his arms, in a posture that looked ridiculous on someone with his build. He wore a snide grin, "You heard the boss."

Laguna eyed him warily, clenching his jaw. _Well, I've gone this far..._He sighed and slung the strap of his bag across his chest before complying.

He heard one of the boys march behind him and suddenly a bucket was slammed over his head. Laguna cried out and felt the chair getting kicked out from beneath him.

"Ugh!" Laguna rolled over trying to pick himself up, the bucket made things echo horribly and it was difficult to breathe.

"Go, go, go!" Vance shouted.

Rudy smashed the light overhead and they both took off laughing over the slam of the shed door. A man's voice called out to the bullies and Laguna panicked trying to simultaneously run and remove the bucket. A rake got caught underfoot in his attempt to get to the door, tripping him and shattering a window. Tools were knocked down and a jar of nails was sent flying.

"What the hell are you brats doing?" The man left his window and started out his front door.

"Crap, crap, oh crap!" Laguna shot out of the shed, finally managing to tear off the bucket. The bullies had gone in the opposite direction, back to where the bus had dropped them off. They continued jeering at the man and mocking Laguna as they went.

"Hey, you!" The man whirled towards him at the sound of the shed door slamming again.

"Bloody Belhelmels!" Laguna tore down the tracks hoping the man would let him go without a fight.

A block later it was safe enough to catch his breath. _What was I thinking? _

"Gwar! And what'm I supposed to do with this?" He swung the bucket by its handle. Even newly adorned with dents it caught the sun's waning light. _Worry about it later, I'm gonna be late! _

He dumped his bag in the bucket and hoisted the bundle on his other shoulder and started jogging. . It was a bit challenging to find a path clear of slick mud or dead foliage. _Lazuli's right, something's gotta be done about those guys. But it's not like I'm gonna make my own gang to compete with them... Wonder why people say you gotta fight fire with fire? _

* * *

"Hey, mom! I'm home!" Laguna tucked the metal bucket behind the hedge adjacent to tbe front steps before closing the door.

Her voice was slightly muffled from the kitchen, "Was the bus late? You should wash up, my Great Explorer, dinner's nearly ready."

"Nah, I just took a longer route." He set his bag down and stretched out both shoulders. His reflection in the hallway mirror looked ridiculous; both cheeks were flushed from the cold and wind. Laguna ran a hand through a tangled mess of hair. "Wow! That smells super yummy!"

Mrs. Loire poked her head into the hall, "You better believe it! It's my famous Buttered Nebimonite!"

Laguna slipped out of his jacket and shoes, "Wasn't that dad's favourite?"

"Yeah." She wiped her hands on her apron. "Head on upstairs and wash up. And can you set the table once you're done?" She headed back to the stove taking his lunch kit with her.

"Alrighty! Be down in a flash." Her son scrubbed his hands clean, ignoring the sting of a few cuts (luckily none of the light bulb shards remained embedded in his palms) and hurried back down the stairs.

"So mom, when are we gonna go back to Malgo?" He called from the dining room.

"Sorry, what was that?" Riada left the kitchen carrying a platter. "And why's your bag so sticky?"

"I had a clumsy day." Laguna shook his head before grabbing some silverware from the cupboard, "But mom, when can we see dad again?"

Mrs. Loire lowered the dish onto a table pad before tucking a lock of hair behind one ear. _I really thought he would stop asking after a year, but... _

"It's been tough to keep steady hours, and I can't go asking for time off so soon after being hired at the new place." She sighed, not satisfied by her answer either, "Besides, I haven't been able to get in touch with your dad or anyone else back there."

"Oh, okay." Laguna put down a set of cutlery.

"That's not to say that this is how it will always be. There's been talk of Dollet or even Galbadia coming to extend the rails and maybe reopening the station over here." Their little town of Paravlastima was situated just north of the Yaulny Canyon region and slightly south-west of Dollet. They lay in a slightly grey area in terms of politics and in a patch of green against the Galbadian desert. A good portion of funding and supplies came down from Dollet, but Galbadia kept her ties to the town by sending technology and military assistance occasionally.

"Really? I've never been on a real live train before! Bet it's the funnest way to travel!" His eyes lit up at the prospect.

"Well, we'll have to see. C'mon, time to eat!"

**-*-**

(March 1, 2010)  
**Author's Notes:**

Some websites have stated that Laguna grew up in Deling City, but from what I remember (and what the guide book says) I don't think that that was ever explicitly stated. If I'm wrong, I'd like to know! Although, with the way that things have been planned out I'm not sure I can switch it up. Ah wells!  
So, I'm also assuming that the world has more places in it than shown in the game and that there are more areas to the cities than what you are able to explore. Also, please forgive me, I've added some characters already... I do promise that some will be tied into unnamed characters provided in the game and will be making subsequent appearances.  
I'm hoping we'll be out of the childhood years by the end of the next chapter. Thank you for hanging in there!


	3. Galvanization

_Fighting a battle you can't win isn't courage, it's reckless and pointless. _

Onion Knight from Dissidia Final Fantasy (translation by animekitty sama and Minospelgud, via Youtube).

.0o0.

_Now, I'm having trouble differentiating _  
_Between what I want _  
_And what I need _  
_To make me happy. _  
_So instead of thinking I just act _  
_Before I have the chance to contemplate the _  
_Consequence of action._

Stabilo - "Flawed Design"

.0o0.

**Chapter 3 - Galvanization**

He wasn't like most men in town, a fact that he was well aware of. In his mind it was something to be embraced. Throughout his life he never felt the urge to 'fit in.' No, he didn't want to explicitly draw attention to himself, to be the rogue or wild card; but he also wasn't willing to compromise his spirit, morals, ideals - all the stuff that made someone who they were. And for Meech, all that stuff, that _character_, made him different.

He paused to ratchet the last bolt and wipe his brow. _That didn't take too long. _

No wife, kids, close relatives of any sort, not even a pet to keep him company... just his gadgets at the moment. In any case, it wasn't something he could feel regret about. He had a few friends here and there, scattered around the globe due to his affinity for travel; however, recent events had kept him holed up just outside Dollet longer than he had intended.

It wasn't like he was in terrible accommodations. He'd found a nice, retired couple who were renting out properties along the river and had taken up their offer. The yard was a bit small, but since he didn't have any neighbours it sometimes felt like the shore was entirely his. Having the water nearby was always a comfort - the promise of freedom at his doorstep.

Meech stepped back from his work, giving it a critical eye. _This might do for now. _Grabbing an old rag he wiped the oil off his hands - he preferred to work with bare hands rather than wearing gloves as it made him feel more connected to his work.

"Ah well, I was hoping to work on other things these past few days... Still, distractions can prove to be good exercise for the mind!" He stretched out his back and polished away a few oily fingerprints from his contraption. Although contrary to his innate disposition, positive thinking had become a hard-earned and valued trait.

"Still, what in the world would attract youngsters to this part of town?" Shaking his head in bewilderment he wandered past his shed. "And who would sell spray paint to a kid?"

* * *

"Finally! Lunchtime!" Laguna flopped down in the grass. Spring was coming to Paravlastima; the wind was gentle and brought a refreshing sweep from the sea. The heavier rain had yet to arrive so everyone was taking advantage of the schoolyard fields.

"Yeah, I know, right?" As per usual Lazuli had already started eating as they walked.

"Hey, Laz, can I ask you somethin'?"

"Sure!" The blonde threw his apple core into the bushes before settling down beside his friend.

Laguna paused slightly before blurting out, "Why do they call you 'Crybaby'?"

"'Cause they're a bunch of turds." His friend made a sour face before rolling his eyes, "It's my birthmark."

Seeing the look of confusion, Lazuli shook his hair out of the way and revealed an almost tear-shaped mark just below his temple. "It's just always been there."

"Oh! I never even noticed." The brunette shrugged and took a gulp of juice, "But you know, it looks kinda cool to me. Like... like a tattoo or something!"

"Haha! I guess it could. I've just kept my hair long enough to cover it; which is kind of a good thing 'cause it's colder here than I'm used to, so it helps keep my head warm."

They sat eating for a while before Lazuli turned back to him, "Can I ask you somethin'?"

"Sure." Laguna responded easily.

"I'm the new kid, a bit of an easy target, so how come they pick on you? I mean, you're bigger than me and all."

"Doesn't help that Vance is in my class. I'm surprised he hasn't caused a lotta trouble for Mrs. Bentley... But don't worry about being short; my mom says if we drink lots of milk and stuff we'll grow out of it! Just you wait." Laguna finished his sandwich and leaned against the chain link fence.

"Oh, yeah, that's true. Guess we're lucky he tends to skip school a lot too, huh?"

They watched a couple of kids kicking a ball below them before Laguna continued, "We used to live in the same neighbourhood. I mean, when mom and I first got here we lived over that way." He pointed up the road. "But she got a job further down and thought it would be better to live closer to the docks. I thought I'd be going to a different school when we moved, but turns out I'm still close enough to go to this one. Which is okay, I mean if I went somewhere else we wouldn't be friends, you know?"

"Right! And luckily my family got to move here from the capital city this year." Lazuli gave a wide grin before turning serious again, "Why does Vance hate you though?"

"I... kinda broke his bike before we moved... but not on purpose! We were playing around the gravel pit and the bike just slipped out of my hands." He scratched his head sheepishly, making the short hair stick up in funny angles.

"And then it got creamed by a Wendigo." He smacked a fist into his palm to emphasize the point. "Seriously, a Wendigo. Who knew that those things actually wander out of the woods?"

Lazuli smirked, "You have the weirdest luck. Wow, I can't imagine how mad he must've been!"

"Meh, it's all in the past. He's got one of those new board-thingers apparently, so whatever." Laguna yanked some grass and tossed it in the air.

"You mean an O-board? I heard those were super pricey! That's -" Lazuli was cut off by the bell, "Aw, bummer. Well, see ya after class! My dad's coming to pick me up today, wanna meet up in the parking lot?"

"Okay!"

* * *

The day was running smoothly and they met up to wait outside for Lazuli's dad. No sign of Vance or Rudy all day and Reynolds was still suspended, so no one knew where he was. It didn't take long before the Dackel's family car drove up to where they were waiting.

"Hey dad!" The smaller boy opened the passenger door and made room to reveal his friend. "This is Laguna!"

"Hi Mr. Dackel." Laguna gave a wave.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Laguna. I'm glad to finally put a face to the name after all the stories my son's been telling us." Mr. Dackel had kind eyes, a calm smile, an orderly crew cut and a lean but sturdy frame. "I'm sorry to cut our introduction short, but Lazuli is due for a dental appointment. We have to head down to the base; perhaps we can give you a ride next time?"

Lazuli turned to apologize, but was interrupted by a reassuring nod from Laguna. "Oh, that's no problem! I've got some gil for the bus. Hope you don't have any cavities, Laz!"

"Thanks..." Lazuli clambered inside and did up his seatbelt, "I'll see you tomorrow!" The two waved as the car pulled away from the curb.

It was a short jog to the bus, which came right on schedule. Laguna boarded it, squeezing past a buggy to get to the back. He doodled with the condensation that had formed on the inside of the window as the vehicle lumbered along its route.

As the heavy motor vehicle rumbled passed the docks he swiped the images clean and strained to see through the smudged glass. A sudden shock of yellow shot behind a stand of trees. _Something that fast... Could it be? _

Laguna yanked the cord to signal the bus to drop him off at the next stop. He slung his bag over his head and wondered what chocobos ate, making a mental note to pack an extra apple next time.

After the public transit vehicle went on its way he cupped his ears hoping to hear the rustling of feathers or happy chirping. Instead, foul language filtered through the woods. _Crap, it must have been Rudy's hair... definitely sounds like him. _

Laguna backtracked and jogged along the railroad hoping to make a clean getaway. _Maybe they won't notice me... _"Ouch!"

A fallen branch camouflaged along the tracks caught his ankle and sent the hapless boy sprawling. Laguna picked himself up and took a careful step; it felt a bit tender but he could still walk, even if it was in a laboured manner. A loud whoop rang out followed by the hum of hover boards. Laguna cringed.

Vance and Rudy had spied him and were making a rapid approach on their twin O-boards. It was no wonder the yellow hair had looked like a chocobo racing along the river, the machines were pretty fast.

"Aw crap!" He started to clamber faster trying to avoid large rocks and sticks. _If I can just make it past those bushes... _

The bullies were gaining on him and it was difficult to see how far away they were in the dying rays of daylight. _If I can make it to that house, I could try to make a stand. If things get out of hand, maybe I can call for help from that guy... and hope against hope that he doesn't hold a grudge. _

Laguna gave a gasp as his foot landed at an awkward angle. The house wasn't too far away but neither were the other boys. His heart was pounding already and a little voice in his head was screaming to run. Still, he turned around and stood as tall as he could, "What do you guys want?"

"What, you don't wanna play with us, Shortstuff? I thought we were gonna be best buds?" Vance steered the O-board in a swift semi-circle around his prey. "Whaddaya think Rudy? Did he pass the test?"

"Nah, I say he gets punishment for failin'!" The chocobo-impostor slowed beside his leader.

"Good idea!" The redhead hopped off his board and placed it under one arm; both came closer.

Although the view was obstructed by large hedges and some heaps of scrap metal Laguna edged towards the house.

"Hey, two on one isn't cool guys. I don't wanna be in your club or whatever. Can't we just leave it at that?"

"No way." Vance made a sudden movement and Laguna took off in as best a run as he could manage. _Gotta make it to that house! Please, oh please be home Mr. Man! _

A rock whizzed by at shoulder height missing him by a metre, most likely thrown by Rudy. As Laguna turned to see how far they were, he caught a glimpse of Vance stumbling in the growing twilight. _A little too close for comfort. Cleared the bushes, almost there! _

"_ROAAWR!"_

Suddenly it looked like the hedges were on fire, and a great gust of wind shook up the metal debris. Vance skidded into Laguna and all three boys gaped in silence. A metallic T-Rexaur loomed above them; its jaw widened as it bellowed another mighty call.

"The hell's that?" Rudy panicked and scurried backwards before leaping onto his O-board.

"Come back here, coward!" Vance yelled before thinking twice. He whipped out his own board and pushed Laguna forcefully in front of the mechanical monster before taking off after his lackey. The smaller child tumbled forward with no trouble, due to an already weakened ankle, just as the beast swung its tail.

"Aaah!" A loud crack sounded as the metal connected with his right leg, immediately flooring him.

The front door opened and the machine shut down abruptly. The light effects faded leaving Laguna's vision blurred from the sudden transition.

"Hah! Not so tough are ya, you bunch of vandals!" Meech shielded his eyes as he watched the two bullies ride off into the retreating sun. He paused in his celebration, was someone crying?

"Hey, who's there?" He switched on the floodlight before setting foot into the front yard.

"Please, don't hurt me! I didn't mean it!" A downtrodden schoolboy was squatting on the ground clutching his thigh.

"Aw geez! You okay, boy?" Meech glanced up to see the towering position of his invention. The moving tail was perhaps not that great of an idea after all. _I shoulda stuck to a hologram instead. _

"I - I dunno. It hurts." Laguna wished he had not gotten off of the bus early. He wished he could get up and run away. He wished he was at home sitting to eat dinner with his mom. Mostly, he wished he could steady his breathing and stop crying.

"Here, let me see your leg." The man knelt down and motioned for Laguna to stretch it out. "I'm just gonna check if it's broken, hold still."

The boy tried not to wrench his leg loose as Meech inspected the bone. "Not sure if it's fractured... Do ya think ya can put weight on it?"

"I can try..." Laguna gritted his teeth, and tentatively accepted Meech's support. His leg felt like a limp noodle and it gave way easily. He let out a sharp cry and collapsed.

"Whoa! I got ya." Meech helped to lower him gently to the ground. "Hang tight; I've got something that'll work wonders."

Laguna lay panting in the dust trying to calm his heart. _My leg is killing me!_

"Hey, what's your name, boy?" Meech had returned with a towel and a bottle of dark liquid.

Laguna paused, was this guy going to turn him in to the authorities? Or maybe he was going to poison and bury him beneath the dinosaur. Then again, he _had_ turned the machine off... "I dunno, mom said not to talk to strangers..." He didn't sound that convinced with the advice, but he _was_having a hard enough time trying to ignore the pain shooting through his leg.

"Well, if I'm going to be giving you a potion, it'd be good to know who I'm giving it to, right?" Meech said it in a slightly gruff tone, despite the fact that he'd already begun to uncork the bottle of Hi-Potion. The man continued, "You don't seem to be having much luck with your...'friends.' How about giving me a shot? Sorry 'bout the leg; I didn't think anyone would get that close to my invention." The man crouched down to look the boy in the eyes, hoping his sincerity showed. He passed the flask to the child.

Laguna hesitated, only briefly, before accepting the potion and gulping it down. It left a cascade of tickles down his throat and was already working magic on his leg. He felt his head clearing up and even his swollen ankle didn't feel as bad.

Laguna made a face, not from the taste but rather from Meech's previous choice of words. "Yeah. I guess I'm not that good at makin' friends." He wiped his mouth on a dirty sleeve thankful that his sniffling had abated.

"Sometimes it's just a matter of making the right friends. My name's Meech Foebastria."

"I'm Laguna."

"So can I ask why they were chasing you?" Meech settled into a more stable position; since getting into his thirties kneeling had become a bit harder on his knees. Nonetheless, he had good genes to thank for still having a full head of hair and no serious health issues.

Laguna gave his leg a soft massage. "They're always picking on anyone they feel like. I don't think becoming friends with them would solve the problem."

"Ya certainly have your work cut out for you then, boy. Now, how's that leg?"

"I think it's better. Kinda tingles." Laguna gave it a tentative stretch.

The man gave him a hearty pat on his back and smiled, much relieved that his machine hadn't completely maimed the poor kid. "Good, that means it's doing its job. Now, how about you? Where're you supposed to be at this hour?"

Laguna looked up to see trails of the sun as it burrowed into the horizon. "Oh shoot! What time's it?"

"Don't you have a watch, boy?" Meech eyed his visibly bare wrist.

Embarrassed, the boy rubbed the back of his neck, keeping one hand on his injured leg. "Well, I kinda have this habit of misplacing stuff like that..."

"Alright. So what were ya planning to do after trespassing in my yard again?"

"Huh? Oh man, that's right... I'm really sorry about your window Mister Meech! It was an accident! I can totally help to fix it!"

"With your self-admitted absentmindedness I'm not sure, boy." The man stood up, dusting off his pants.

"I'm not a little kid, I just turned nine not too long ago!" Laguna winced after jostling his leg in his animated protests.

Meech couldn't help but laugh, "Alright, take it easy. I'm just teasing. Do ya think you can walk now?" he gestured to the leg.

Laguna pulled himself up stiffly, avoiding eye contact with the metallic dinosaur which had remained silent throughout their conversation. He took a touch of pride in the fact that he could put some weight on the limb, but bemoaned the torn pant leg. "Aw, mom's gonna have my head..."

"I'm more of an engineer than a seamstress or nurse. You'll have to face the music on your own! C'mon, let's go." Meech picked up the empty flask and handed Laguna the towel.

"Go?" Laguna stared at the cloth dumbfounded.

"Yeah, can't have my new pupil gettin' eaten by some roaming monster. I'll give ya a lift home if you live nearby. Just use that to clean up first."

The boy perked up, "Serious? Cool! We rent a place just down thataway on Valais Lane." He hobbled behind Mr. Foebastria. There was another storage unit behind the tool shed. It had a sturdy structure and housed a car along with some expensive looking machinery. The two buckled in and Meech started up his Oldsmobile. He took care to readjust the mirrors after flicking on the headlights.

"I'm real sorry about your shed. The guy who spray painted it got suspended at school - which is okay 'cause he's kind of a bully and all. But I was part of the group that busted up your window... it was by accident! I got caught on something and it hit the window! Sorry for making such a mess..."

Meech let the emergency brake go and started down the road. "What were you doing there in the first place?"

"It was some stupid prank, but I didn't know what they had planned." Laguna looked out the window. They were rolling past the out of commission station. The roof was still intact but was definitely on the shoddy side, not helped by the fact that the wooden walls were warped from the salt air.

"How come ya wound up in my yard again?"

The boy gave a cautious glance; an inner debate of whether to keep his secrets to himself or to share with this somewhat stranger, admittedly a nice-non-axe-wielding-psychotic-stranger like his mother had warned him about played in his mind... he chose to go with the latter.

"I wasn't really aiming to be at your house. Thought I saw a chocobo when I was on the bus. Turns out I was wrong and I ended up bumping into those other guys."

Meech grunted in response, keeping his eyes on the winding path. A few minutes passed by with only the motor and the crunching of tires on gravel to fill the silence.

"Don't worry about it, boy. You didn't plan on being there and I didn't mean for ya to get hurt. No hard feelings?"

"Nope." Laguna shook his head and then pointed out the window. "That's my place on the far right."

* * *

Mrs. Loire sat on her bed clutching a pillow to her chest. She cradled a letter in her hands, eyes analyzing the careful loops and gentle curves of the handwriting. Clearly, the writer had taken careful consideration before drawing up the document. She appreciated the light fragrance of lavender embedded in the soothing hues of the parchment; however, it wasn't much consolation for the information it presented.

Wiping her eyes she tucked the paper, along with a small newspaper clipping, back into the envelope they came in. She had been immobilized after rereading the blue letters too many times and vaguely realized how much time had passed since the mail had arrived that afternoon.

_What am I going to do? _

Riada crossed the room and placed the envelope into a locked cabinet. _Even if I say something, that won't change how we are now; it'll only ruin any chances of being happy. We deserve to be happy; at least our son does, doesn't he? _

The drawer closed and her reflection above the bureau sought the answers she couldn't give.

_Laguna will still ask, but... I'd rather live with questions than the hurt in his eyes. _

She forced herself to look away from the mirror at the faint sounds of the front door being unlocked. _Or, maybe I can just tell him part of the story. _

Heaving a sigh she headed for the washroom to put herself together.

"We can't go back anyhow. We're doing alright. No point in making it harder." She resolved to keep the majority of the burden to herself.

* * *

Laguna waved goodbye as Mr. Foebastria drove off in his Oldsmobile. He wasn't at all an expert in cars but could tell that the man took great pride in his work. Little Loire gave a guilty glance at the bucket peeking from behind the bush. "I'll return you the next chance I get."

He unlocked the door, placing the key back in its hidey-hole. _Third brick on the left, beneath the windowsill._

_I'm soooo late... hope mom won't be mad. _Laguna bent over to tuck the ripped edges of his pants into his sock, in the hopes that it would be less obvious, and pushed the door open.

"I'm home!" He locked the door and kicked off his shoes.

"Mom? Hey, mom, are you home?" Dumping his bag near the doorway Laguna looked around the living room. The stove light was on in the kitchen so he headed in that direction.

_Nope, not in here. Maybe she's in her room? _He peered in cautiously. "Mom?"

Mrs. Loire dried her hands and turned the bathroom light off.

"Oh, I didn't hear you come home. Are you hungry?" As she ushered him out of the room, her son couldn't help but notice that her voice was oddly void of its usual cheer.

After washing up, he set the table like normal and waited for his mother to return from the kitchen.

"You okay?" Laguna asked quietly, as she began to ladle out soup.

"I've just got a lot on my mind. Eat up before it goes cold." She unfolded her napkin and hoped her eyes weren't too red.

Laguna rambled on about the day's exploits: learning about where Lazuli used to live, meeting Mr. Dackel and nearly catching sight of a chocobo. He left out the outcome of that particular venture though, not wanting to worry his mother.

After he had changed into his pajamas, Mrs. Loire motioned for her son to sit on the single mattress with her.

"What's the matter?" His stomach felt strange at the sight of barely held back tears. The only times he could recall her crying were from cutting onions, the tickle fights they would resort to, and occasionally around the time of his dad's birthday.

"Laguna..." She mustered up her courage. Just as she couldn't speak the whole truth she also knew it would be too hard to keep it all a secret. "We need to talk. To have a serious conversation, okay?"

"Okay." Laguna sat down alongside her trying not to swing his feet against his bed.

"Remember how we were talking about the train station and maybe someday retuning to the peninsula?" Riada distracted her hands by bunching up the edge of his comforter. The airplane pattern had been a good choice. Nice bold colours against a gentle sky of blue.

He nodded, uncertain as to why the air felt strained.

"I managed to get a hold of our old neighbours; you probably don't remember the MacArthurs, but anyway... I wrote a letter some time ago to ask them what's new and how things were going." She offered a watery smile.

Laguna remained still as his mother took his hand. Hers were cold and trembling slightly. "I asked about your dad, if they'd heard from him, if he was doing better..." She wiped her eyes and turned to her son.

"We can't go back." Riada kept her voice firm trying to push the words out.

His brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"We can't afford a rental back to the Peninsula and the train station is still being sorted out. Even if we do go, we won't find what we're looking for. I... it's difficult for me to explain... your father, he's no longer..." She swallowed past the lump in her throat. "He's no longer living in Malgo. I'm not sure where he is exactly. One day, when I'm thinking clearly, I'll try to do a better job of this. But until then, can we not talk about it, please?"

Laguna didn't fully understand what his mother was saying, but didn't want to pry either. It was like the metallic monster had returned for round two, only this time it settled for chomping on his brain. The stress of the day was catching up to both of them.

Riada enveloped him in a warm hug, embracing to share the pain. Being buried in fleece helped him forget the dull ache that rose in his leg. Laguna curled up under his covers, questions still swimming in his mind.

His mother reached over and combed a hand through his hair. _So much like your father. _A soft Galbadian lullaby drifted from her lips. "...Take us away, far away... To the future we will go..."

* * *

Mrs. Loire slipped between the chilled sheets of her own bed. The normally cramped room felt too big for just one person. She removed her wedding ring and inspected it in the moonlight. The silver circle fit perfectly around the orb of night. _I bet if I had said that to Callado he would have agreed. _

She returned the ring and turned her back to the stars. _At least, he would have before... or he would have prattled on about monsters descending from the silly thing. I should have stayed in Malgo. I'm such a fool._

The mattress protested as she shifted again. _No, no I can't start thinking that way. It is too late for that; I was forced to make a decision, and I did it. We're here now and we'll make do with what we have. _

Her thoughts returned to that December night, four years ago. She had left Callado alone with his thoughts for a while. When it was time for bed they promised that there would be more open dialogue after they were well rested.

A week after his outburst at the dinner table she had gone to the store for some grocery shopping. Their elderly neighbours, the MacArthurs, had offered to take care of Laguna while she was out. Mrs. Loire had returned confused, the credit card had bounced but luckily she had had enough gil for the essentials. The store clerk, a young gentlemen, had been kind and offered to re-shelve the rest to save Riada the embarrassment. After unpacking, she had sighed and watched the clock countdown the time for her husband's arrival.

Right on schedule, Mr. Loire had entered the foyer going through his after-work ritual, shedding the outer layers that winter demanded. Even being a head or so taller than her five foot four frame, he had never seemed capable of being imposing but she could still remember how her stomach tensed in anticipation for an unavoidable clash.

She couldn't recall exactly how the subject was brought up, but definitely remembered trying to be tactful about it. Trying and probably failing from the way he reacted. It had not taken long before all thoughts of open dialogue had disintegrated. It was possible she accused him for siphoning his wages on something not budgeted for, and she was sure he had done the same. She winced remembering how she had retorted that the only additional expense for that day would have been a present for Laguna's birthday. Guilt remained because she knew it was wrong to use children in arguments like that.

In the attempts to reign in her emotions she had gestured for a truce, "Let's just stop for a moment. Seriously, what's happening? You've been working late a lot of nights, but we're falling behind on the house payments. What's going on? Talk to me please, I'm your wife... I thought we trusted each other? If need be I can try to find a job..."

He had looked frustrated at that, looking back she realized it was probably because he felt shame for not being able to provide, but at the time she had taken it to be a sign that he didn't believe in her. She had ended it there saying that their son needed to be picked up before he overstayed his welcome.

The following day had been even worse. After dinner she had asked him how the 'battle-field' of work had been. Callado had not been in the mood for light banter; the conversation was still etched in her mind.

"Why is everything a joke?" The frown on his face had not suited him, not compared to her memories of a carefree man.

"What's the matter? It's bad enough that you mope through work and dinner... How come you're sad all the time?" There had been a pause with no answer from her husband, "And since when did you come to loathe joking? You were full of spunk when I met you! Don't you remember?"

"Those are just memories. Who I am... it's hard to explain. Look, can't you see that people change?" He sounded like a man who had given up; for some reason that had angered her.

"'Change'? Yeah, I've noticed. You used to _smile_. I've got proof in our wedding photo. But now, you're just like 'Olaf, the Depressed Weather Balloon' from Laguna's story books. Shouldn't you be happy?"

"Should or shouldn't, who's to say?" He had risen to his feet and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Can we just forget about it?"

"Nuh-uh. I don't think so. Being depressed all the time is not a good influence on our kid."

Callado had thrown his hands up in the air. "Fine, then! Maybe I shouldn't be around him!"

Riada had pointed her finger square at his chest, "Don't even joke about stuff like that."

"I thought you were complaining about me not joking more often. And maybe it's not a joke. I don't seem jolly enough for that."

"What are you even talking about? I just want to know why you've been acting so strange. Can't you talk to me?"

Her husband had spun away in exasperation, "I don't know. Maybe it could be that I'm just fed up with the false air of a happy family. Maybe I can't stand not having a moment of peace. Maybe I'm tired of everything and want to be alone."

"Callado..."

"I don't know what you want. Should I be angry or sad? It's out of my control these days."

She had tried in vain to keep the tears from falling. "Why can't I talk to the man I married? We were happy... what about Laguna? Didn't we promise to share our lives? Enjoy life together?"

"I'm sorry Riada. He's just going to have to wake up and realize someday that life's not like that. Not every story is a fairy tale! It's the cold, hard truth: happily-ever-afters aren't real." He had fought to keep his fury in check, pinching the bridge of his nose and attempting deep breaths. She remembered how his next sentence was spoken softly, "I hope you know that too."

However, it had been her turn to explode, a mother's rage triggered by his hand extending towards her. She had ripped her hand out of his reach, out of the clutches of a man drowning himself. "No! I will _not_have you crushing everyone else's dreams! I've sacrificed many of mine trying to keep us together, but everyday... every time you come home, you just push us away! Maybe it's not Fate that's stealing your joy; maybe you're just too scared to enjoy life! You're robbing yourself! All of us!"

His arm had fallen slowly down to his side. "You're right. I've let everyone down. I know I've failed in a lot of ways... I can't seem to..." He had crossed his arms then and turned to evade her eyes; the eyes that their son had inherited. "Nevermind. If this is it... then I can be gone. It's his birthday next Thursday. We can figure out where to go after that."

Riada glanced back at the cabinet now harbouring the painful truth. _I'm sorry, Callado. I couldn't stay... My own impatience. My own fears of being alone. I'm so sorry. I wanted so much for our son to have a happy life, and now it's my fault that he won't be able to have you around while growing up. I should've made time to come back or at least tell you where we went... I'm sorry, I really didn't understand... _

(May 1, 2010)  
**Author's Notes:**

Wow, this baby was a long one... and apologies for the delay! Anyway, hope this clears up the abrupt ending in Chapter 1. And yeah, the 'childhood' arc is running longer than I had originally planned (hope you donﾒt mind!) We should be meeting up with Ward soon.

Just a few side notes.  
I'm assuming that letters are being transported by weekly mail persons (by chocobo or car). Esthar has been hogging their technology - making underground cables and internet not available for other nations at this point in history - especially small towns like where Laguna is currently. Later on there'll be a movement for some of Esthar's people to spread out and share that technology (i.e. the birth of FH). Plus, I'm assuming they'll be wanting exchange programs so they can recruit brilliant people from elsewhere...  
Also, I didn't name the capital city 'Deling City' yet - 'cause it's implied in the game that the city gets named after President Vinzer Deling - but I doubt he'd be president at that moment in time... not sure what to call it in the mean time, so defaulted to 'capital city' haha.


	4. Charlie Horse

_It is a thousand times better to have common sense without education than to have education without common sense._

Robert G. Ingersoll

.0o0.

_I close my eyes when I go to bed  
And I dream of angels who make me smile  
I feel better when I hear them say  
'Everything will be wonderful someday.'  
Promises mean everything  
When you're little and world's so big._

Everclear - "Wonderful"

.0o0.

**Chapter 4 - Charlie Horse**

The next couple of days had passed by without incident. The Loire household wasn't as boisterous as it had been, but things weren't dull either. Mrs. Loire did not mention the letter or anything else from that night to her son, and Laguna didn't want to bring it up.

The weather in Paravlastima had maintained a semblance of normalcy. Like something out of a fairy tale the temperature was neither too hot, nor too cold but just right. Migrating songbirds were returning from their winter stopovers in the plains down south and cute, furry critters were poking out of their burrows ready to learn about the world newly opened to them. Unfortunately for the schoolchildren, winter may have ended but they were still expected to herd themselves willingly into their respective classrooms. Lunchtime, always on the minds of many a student, was an ever increasing tease of the summer break to come.

"Wahee!" Laguna launched out of his seat, loving the way the wind swept back his hair and tugged playfully at his pullover. His mother insisted he had to wear it but the inside of the sleeves were no longer as fluffy as they once were, so Laguna kept it wrapped around his waist.

He landed in the wood chips and took a few steps before he was steady again. The rubber swing jerked back up into the air in a lively manner. Its metal chains twisted on themselves and jangled merrily against the metal post as the black seat spun around.

A shout came from behind as a blurry boy shot past him only to land on his bottom. "Beat ya that time!"

Laguna burst out laughing, "Doesn't count if you can't land it!"

"Nuh uh! You never said that before!" Lazuli picked himself up gingerly and shook woodchips off of his shorts.

"That's 'cause I've _always_ landed mine perfectly!" He stuck a thumb to his puffed out chest.

"I'll get you next time. Aw man, someone's already taken our spots..." Sure enough, two younger girls had happily boarded the swings. The blonde's shoulders sagged dramatically before he turned back to his friend. "Whaddaya wanna do now?"

"Dunno, whaddayou wanna do?"

"You wanna play ball with the guys? It's been nice out and they just repaired that fence... Hey, you okay?"

Laguna straightened up and stopped kneading his thigh. "Yeah, yeah. I'm good. Let's go check out the seesaw."

The two boarded the wooden structure and gave it a go. It wasn't one of the more popular attractions in the playground, having a reputation for dealing out splinters to unsuspecting passengers, but it was tolerable if one wasn't willing to wait for a ride on the swings.

"How come your leg's bugging ya today?" Lazuli pushed off the ground. "You run into another Wendigo?"

Laguna gave a grin, "Nah, but there was this ginormous T-Rexaur a couple o' days ago. Just outta nowhere it circled around and charged us! Crazy stuff. Tried to chow down on my leg, but I managed to distract it and escape."

"Whaaaa? You serious? And, wait, who's this 'us'?" Lazuli's hair flew up and uncovered his birthmark as he made the trip back down.

"Ah... I kinda ran into _those_ guys again." He rolled his eyes.

"Oh, I gotcha." They took turns defying gravity before he continued. "So, seriously, you've been acting kinda bummed down. What's up?"

"Man, you worry too much." Laguna shook his head as his feet landed and stayed on the ground. _Well, she only said not to bring it up at home... _"You know how I live with my mom? We just found out that my dad's gone missing or something. Dunno when he left, but we're not gonna go back to Malgo to look for him."

"Oh..." Lazuli tilted his head, "I dunno what to say."

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Laguna leant back. "Know what though? My butt hurts; these seats were totally not made for comfort."

"So wait, didn't you like your dad?" It was a valid question, one that had crossed his mind several times.

"I'm kind of confused 'bout what to feel. I mean I'd been asking my mom all the time about going back to the peninsula, but I don't actually remember much about it. I just know that that's where my dad is... was. And yeah, I don't really remember him much. Does that make me a bad kid? Mom said he's gone somewhere, and now she's sad a lot... shouldn't I be sad too?"

"Hold on, can you let me down?" Laguna got off carefully and released pressure on his end of the seesaw until Lazuli could dismount safely. "I dunno what we can do... I've got both my parents. You can come over any time and hang out with us if you want. I'm sure they wouldn't mind."

Laguna gave a small shrug, "Yeah, I guess. But it wouldn't be the same, right?"

"Maybe." The smaller boy returned the gesture as the school bell gave its Siren call. Lazuli was relieved for the distraction; it wasn't often that they stumbled upon sombre topics like that. The two heeded the ringing request and headed across the schoolyard.

"Where you two goin'?" The boys nearly collided with each other at the sound of a familiar but unwelcome voice.

"Rudy... and Vance." A groan escaped from Lazuli.

"Look guys, bell's rung, we're gonna be late for class." The brunette turned to face the bullies. Not that he was usually in a hurry to get back, but...

"Nice to see ya didn't get eaten, Runt." Vance gave a cocky pose, tapping a crooked branch over his shoulder.

"You weren't joking?" Lazuli asked incredulously.

"I may've exaggerated a tiny bit..." His friend admitted with a bit of a sheepish look. Laguna turned towards the closest door, the one that Rudy had slid in front of. _What is it with this guy and blocking doorways? Seriously. Okay, think Laguna, there's gotta be a way outta this._ The stress seemed to aggravate his leg and he was forced to hunch over as the redhead approached them. _Just great._

Vance guffawed, "Cowering already?"

"What, the runt's got a boo-boo from the dino?" Cooed the dirty blonde from his corner.

Lazuli shot him a questioning look, but was ignored as his friend concentrated on getting the pain to subside. He changed tactics and hissed at Laguna to draw his attention, "Hey, let's split up and head for the other doors. If we get inside they'll probably give up."

"Got it." Laguna forced himself to straighten, "On three: one, two, _three!_" They sprinted in opposite directions.

Rudy gaped as Vance's head snapped to attention. "_Rey, get 'em!_"

Laguna whipped his head back in time to see his pal get bowled over by Reynolds. "Crap! How did we _not_ see him?"

Cursing to himself, Laguna turned around to back his friend up. Lazuli was doubled over in pain, his lean frame visibly wilting beneath Reynold's significantly stocky form. Letting loose a war cry, Laguna took aim and then launched himself at the bully. They tumbled down the slope, kicking up sand and dead grass, but Reynolds was the first to get up.

The leader of the threesome gave a short laugh and advanced on his prey. Little Dackel was slow to get up; he rolled away from the scuffle and shielded his eyes from the sun trying to gauge the distance between himself and Vance. Rudy's mouth shut abruptly and he stepped forward, looking around in a panic.

"_What_ is going on out here?" The door behind Rudy slammed to reveal a terrifying Mrs. Bentley. Her golden curls were flung back and fury very nearly emanated from her. Despite her slight figure, she had an incredibly commanding voice.

She raised a hand toward the group of boys and Rudy flinched in his corner almost expecting Thunder to be let loose. "Mister Sheffield, drop that stick. You three, get out of that dirt at once. Don't make me repeat myself, Reynolds."

The stout boy released Laguna's shirt and got off his knees; both of them were breathing hard. Reynolds swiped blood from his face with the back of his hand while Vance's face paled, making his freckles and red hair stand out horribly, but he complied as well. Laguna gave a hand up for Lazuli and they headed for the entrance, heads down.

"All of you, to the headmaster's office." She hauled the door open and scrutinized them with flaring eyes as they passed, "Do _not_ pretend that I cannot see you, Rudy Delaire. Inside."

The troupe marched down the hallway to the dreaded office. Inside, the secretary gave a start as she took in their dishevelled appearances. Mrs. Bentley left them to explain their situation to the principal after informing them they were to pick up extra assignments from her room after school.

The headmaster did not interrogate them for long; the day was coming to an end after all, however, he did remind them that such behaviour was not tolerated in his school. Rudy, Lazuli and Laguna were let off easy since they had the least number of offences on their records, but it was made clear that their parents would be contacted later. Once the ordeal was over, Reynolds was sent to the nurse's room to clean up his bloody nose while the rest were escorted back to their respective homerooms.

As they made their way through the halls, Lazuli gave a hasty whisper for Laguna to wait for him later. He nodded and then entered Mrs. Bentley's classroom behind Vance. She peered at them over her glasses, steel blue eyes betraying no leniency, and motioned them to take out their reading material like the rest of the students. The other children continued to steal looks over their textbooks when they thought she wasn't watching.

_This has_ so _not been my week..._

* * *

Eventually, three o'clock rolled around and everyone packed up for home. The four boys were dealt their punishment with deadlines attached.

"Man, I can't believe they let Reynolds back into the school so soon. Thought he'd be kicked out for a couple of weeks at least!" Lazuli stuffed the papers into his backpack. He almost missed the physical reprimands that were dished out at his previous school, this new place definitely was not afraid to let the students burn the midnight oil. Lazuili lifted his shirt to examine his ribs, "I hope I don't bruise... C'mon, my dad can give you a ride today."

"Okay, thanks!" Laguna hefted his bag after stuffing the extra work into it, "How'd it go at the dentist's?"

"Aw, don't remind me." He stuck his tongue out. "I gotta go back to fix some cavities or something."

"Bummer."

Mr. Dackel was already in the parking lot by the time they left the main building. The three exchanged pleasantries and Laguna recited his address as he and Lazuli buckled up.

"How was school today?" Mr. Dackel asked casually as they slowed down for a stop sign.

Lazuli carefully inspected the window trying not to draw attention to his scuffed up elbow and knees. "Uh... nothing spectacular, dad."

"Really." They turned the corner passing some classmates. "That's not what your headmaster said."

His son cringed slightly. "Aw, dad."

"Don't give me that. There will be no avoiding discipline when we get home either." His voice was resolute, but not seething. "You know the rules, whether at home or not, brawling is not acceptable behaviour."

Laguna started to speak up as Mr. Dackel continued, but was silenced with a furtive glance from his friend. He settled for frowning to himself instead.

"Sorry you had to overhear the lecture, Laguna." The car turned down Valais Lane kicking up a bit of dust.

Lazuli kept his silence and was avoiding eye contact. He shook his head, "No worries, Mr. Dackel. Thanks a bunch for the ride."

"Our pleasure." They pulled into the driveway and slowed down. "Is that your mother?"

Mrs. Loire turned at the sound of the vehicle after unlocking the front door. She smiled upon recognition of the children and gave a quick wave.

"Yup! That's her." Laguna got his things and hopped out of the car. "Hey, mom! I got a ride!"

"I see that, Trooper!" She crouched to put down a couple of bags and gave him a hug, one that he half-heartedly squirmed out of, before walking over to the driver's side.

Mr. Dackel unrolled the window to shake her hand. "Hello, Mrs. Loire. I'm Colonel Liam Dackel; it's good to meet you."

"And you as well. Thank you for taking the time to drive out this way." Riada cinched her long winter coat tighter against the sudden breeze. Peering into the vehicle she gave another small wave, "Hi Lazuli."

"Not a problem, ma'am. Well, we best not keep you any longer. Seems like that rain is going to make its way over tonight." He tilted his head and then reversed the vehicle. Lazuli gave a near sullen goodbye as they drove off.

"Alright, scoot on inside. Careful not to trip on the groceries."

* * *

It was the weekend, Mrs. Loire was up at the usual time and busy in the kitchen. She turned the stove off and gave another holler for her son. The only response was a dubious thud from upstairs. Hurrying over to the foyer mirror she readjusted her hair, tying it back in a tight bun. The reflective surface had more than a healthy dose of fingerprint smudges over its surface and a light layer of dust. Riada sighed, just another job to deal with later.

"Laguna! C'mon, I've got to head out soon. Hustle down here and have some breakfast." Riada popped back into the kitchen and divided the pan of eggs onto a couple of plates trying not to splatter the toast. "_Lagu-_ Oh, good you're already changed. Eat, eat! I've gotta run down to The Nautilidae to take a shift for Mr. Donner. Are you going to Lazuli's place today?"

Laguna plopped down and stabbed a golden yolk, "Nope, going out to the docks. Remember my almost-Chocobo sighting a few days ago? I'm helping this guy out with some stuff an' it's kinda related to that."

"Alright, just don't stay out too late again, 'kay?" His mother finished her meal, organized her things and then set to doing the dishes. "I'll leave some change by the door for the bus."

Laguna swallowed the last of his eggs and followed her to the sink. He faltered slightly on the way there, giving a light hiss of pain. It was loud enough to be heard over the clatter of dishes and Riada was nudged from her thoughts.

"Are you okay?" She gave him a visual check and put a hand on her hip, "Come to think of it, you've been acting awfully funny these days, what's up?"

"I'm not acting funny!" He protested, allowing her to take his plate with soapy fingers.

"Does this have to do with your clothes getting all tattered lately?" Mrs. Loire gave the plastic spatula an extra scrub as she kept her eyes narrowed on him. Laguna winced but her next words were cut off when her wristwatch interrupted with a short beep. "Oh shoot, I'm going to be late!"

Giving everything a quick rinse she bustled out of the room, placed some coins on the shoe rack, grabbed her keys and hurried to the door. Just before it shut she called back, "We are going to finish this later!"

Laguna heaved a sigh. "Crap."

* * *

The sun was beginning to poke out from behind the clouds by the time his bus neared the docks. Trying not to picture his favourite lizard tyrant's metallic maw, Laguna headed towards the harsh whine of metal on metal. Upon reaching Mr. Foebastria's property the sound had come to an abrupt stop. Laguna unplugged his ears.

"Ah, there you are." Meech was sitting on a stump not too far from the front hedges. He lowered a circular saw onto the ground in a gentle manner. "Hadn't heard from you in a while, boy! Thought you'd chickened out."

"No way!"

"Good." Meech wiped at his forehead with a handkerchief.

"Okay, follow me." He tucked the cloth into his back pocket and headed in the direction of his vandalized shed, being careful as he walked on the grass due to the rain from the previous night. "Words are very important. You gotta say what you mean and mean what ya say."

"Maybe, but sometimes they're no match for fists..." Laguna muttered as he tagged along.

The older man gave him a sidelong look over his shoulder. "Now, who told you that?"

"Oh... I kinda found that out yesterday." Laguna stopped in his tracks, looking faintly abashed.

Meech came alongside him, his expression serious. "Words can be used instead of resorting to violence; you just gotta listen and know what to say. Don't go underestimating words! They can be powerful tools - not weapons, but ways to solve a problem. Sure, they probably won't solve everything, but it's better than escalating things with violence..." He paused and readjusted his twill fishing hat. "This about those guys who were snooping 'round here? Hmm... I told ya you had your work cut out for ya!"

"Right... Um, speaking of work, what'm I supposed to be doing today?" Laguna looked at the shed with some trepidation.

"I've already patched up the window, so you get to help clean up this mess you youngsters made." Meech waved a hand broadly at the grandiose 'V' painted on his shed.

"Oh hey, you know what? I've got somethin' that'll help then..." Laguna shrugged off his backpack and hauled out a slightly dented pail.

"I'd wondered where this had wandered off to! Thieving twerp!" The youngster jumped back a bit.

Wholehearted laughter rang out as Meech accepted the bucket from his pupil and his face kept its wide grin, "...Just kiddin', boy! A little beat up, but still useful. Here's some soap, go fill this up with that hose over there and then have at that graffiti."

"Alright..." He squatted by the hose to begin filling the container. _Maybe he_ is _a bit off his rocker, but whatever, this isn't so bad after all._

Meech poked into the building and emerged with a few more tools. "So, how long have I got ya here for?"

"Oh, I'm not sure. I just gotta be home before dinner I guess." Laguna caught a scrub brush and pair of gloves from the man but he nodded at the other equipment. "What're you going to use those for?"

"I've got a T-Rexaur to tackle." One screwdriver in his pocket, a wrench in the other, plus another rag.

"You're going to get rid of it?" Laguna turned the tap off. "It's kind of cool." _If it weren't so scary._

"You don't hold a grudge?"

"Nah, not really. Man, I wish I had a pet T-Rex or a dragon. That thing looked so real."

"Well, they don't call me The Engineer for nothin'!" Meech straightened and gave a smile at the thought. He normally didn't pay much attention to formalities or titles. Nicknames were alright in his books though.

"'They'?" Laguna cocked his head in question.

Meech began to make his way back to the fallen form of his robotic guardian. "Yeah, coworkers, friends. I came from a place far away. Made all sorts of inventions and things."

"Far away? Like how far? Laz, my friend at school, moved here from the capital."

The engineer laughed, "It's a bit farther and dustier than that. I grew up on the East Continent."

Laguna stopped scrubbing at the wall; a foam of red bubbles trailed down the grooves in the vinyl siding. "Really? So how come you're all the way over here?" He'd never really explored a desert before. Lazuli had mentioned something about a sea of sand being close by.

Meech sat back on the stump. _How do you sum up the how's and why's that make up your life?_ "You've gotta move beyond the things they wanna teach you in class. Sometimes you've just gotta venture out, meet people, learn stuff about the world, make new and crazy things people've never seen."

"Like that robot?" The kid gestured at the beast with a soppy glove.

"Yeah, like this thing. It just felt like the time was right to try somethin' else for awhile." It wasn't that he was tired of the work he had been doing; things were advancing well and his team was great to work with. Still, when the opening for this assignment went out he took the opportunity to stretch his legs as it were. Meech unloaded his pockets and pointed with his wrench, "You missed a spot, boy."

"I'm on it!" Laguna turned his attention back to the red scrawl. "So, anyway, how come you're gettin' rid of your invention? I bet it took a lot of work to make!"

"The best part was figuring out how to put it together and then doing it." The metal jaw popped off with a quick jerk of his arm and a little effort. Meech waved the wrench casually as he continued, "It's a basic rule of thumb: gadgets made for passive defence shouldn't become bloodthirsty beasts."

"Makes sense."

The two continued on with their work making some chit-chat and progress. Once the head and torso were dismantled Meech put down his tools and stretched out his limbs. They had been out in the sun for a couple of hours and a cool drink was definitely a good idea.

"How's that wall comin' along?" Meech came up behind Laguna with some cans of cola and a few sandwiches.

"This stuff sure is hard to get out!" Laguna hosed down the wall, still branded with the mark of childhood rebellion. He'd been scrubbing the siding for hours and all he had to show for it was a pair of pinkish gloves, wet sleeves and a blurry halo around the offending letter.

"Here, take this." He showed the food to his pupil. "Don't be shy; 'squeaky wheel' and all that."

"Oh, uhm, sure!" Laguna removed his gloves and wiped the sweat off his palms. "I'm starving!"

Laguna wasn't so sure about the combination of fish and peanut butter, but since he hadn't brought anything to eat...

The two workers shared their meal in the shade of Meech's hedges. There was a light breeze, courtesy of the body of water neighbouring Meech's property, so the temperature wasn't too unbearable.

"So, how's the leg been?" Meech wiped the crumbs off his lap and stretched out his own legs.

"I'm fine. It's just not a big deal." Laguna shrugged and contemplated eating the crusts he'd left for last.

Meech tossed his pop can into a recycling bin. "Yeah? I better not see you limping off home then. Best to complain out in the open then bottle that up."

"It's been a pain." Laguna frowned. "Like, it's mostly annoying. People at school are bugging me and then my mom's gotten on my case. I dunno."

"Mothers are well-known for their concern over their kids. I won't ask again, just wanted to make you weren't going to sue me." At the look from his young charge, Meech gave a laugh, "I'm teasin' ya, boy."

"Yeah, well, whatever." Laguna chucked his crusts onto the dusty road. Maybe a wandering bird would find it appetizing.

"Let's call it a day." Meech got to his feet and helped Laguna up. "That soap doesn't seem to be workin' out. I'll go buy something stronger and you can finish that off tomorrow."

* * *

It was mid-afternoon by the time Laguna made it home, nearly the same time he would have gotten there if it had been a school day. The sound of a cupboard door closing could be heard somewhere down the hall.

'_We are going to finish this later!'_ Mrs. Loire's promise from earlier rang in his ears. Laguna looked around hastily, nowhere to hide and no excuses to stay out much later. A gurgle came unbidden from his gut; apparently it had the same opinion of bizarre sandwiches as his tongue. "Maybe if I pretend to be sick? Or I _could_ lock myself in my room. Oh shoot, I've got that assignment..."

He leaned against the foyer table and subsequently knocked his mother's keys to the floor with a jarring crash.

"Laguna, is that you?"

"Uh..." He quickly cleared his throat giving a glare at the metal on the floor, "I'm home, mom!"

"Good, I have a question for you..." They both entered the living room at the same time, Riada holding a note and Laguna wearing a guilty expression, "Do you know about this message from school?"

"Oh that."

"Yes, that. I'm not letting you off that easy, especially since you didn't mention it at all the day it happened!" She crossed her arms.

"It was nothing..." Laguna shrugged, "I mean, Lazuli-"

"Are you getting him in trouble too?"

"Mom! It wasn't like that. We were havin' lunch and then some guys were causing trouble when we tried to go back to class! Honest."

Hands on her hips, she gave her most intimidating 'tough love' look. "If I hear otherwise from Mr. Dackel, and you can bet that I _will_ talk to him, then you are in for - What's wrong with your leg?"

"Nothin'." Laguna stopped rubbing the spot where the wound had returned as a dull throb.

At the sight of harsh scrutiny he objected again, "It's nothing!"

"Seems there's a whole lot of 'nothing' going on with you." Riada's voice softened as she continued. "What's going on? No tricks, Buster. Or am I going to need the threat of a Cuchi-cuchi treatment?"

"Not that!" He gave a quick smile, "...I just hit my leg on something the other day. Sometimes it cramps up a little but it's not a big deal."

She sighed. "I don't like the idea of it bugging you all day. Mr. Donner's wife is a nurse, I'm going to give her a call. Go check to make sure the pot's not boiling over, okay?"

"Alright..."

Within the kitchen he could hear a kettle starting to whistle. Turning that off he checked the large, stainless steel pot, it barely had any bubbles along the inside. There was a filleted fish resting on a cutting board by the sink.

Laguna made a face, fish soup? "Okay, maybe I'm not as hungry as I thought..."

He sauntered over to the fridge and rummaged around for something to drink. Leaning against the wall Laguna wondered how the conversation was going in the other room. Conveniently enough there was another phone line in the kitchen, and even more conveniently, the phone was right beside the refrigerator.

Laguna frowned to himself, was it okay to be eavesdropping? "Then again, they _are_ talking about me..."

He shrugged and picked up the receiver as quietly as he could.

"- help out. Can you describe the symptoms?" Came a voice he didn't recognize, it was kind of high-pitched and slightly warbled over the line.

"Well, all I really know is that his leg, the right one I think, has been hurting him. I'm sorry to bother you when I don't even..." His mother sounded uncertain, but she continued. "Anyway, Laguna hasn't complained about anything else, just those cramps. Do you think it's just a growth spurt?"

Laguna gave a guilty wince at the mention of his name, but he kept the receiver where it was.

"You're not a bother, dear. As a mother I think it's completely understandable. Hmm... As for growth spurts, it's possible. I mean at his age it wouldn't be out of the ordinary. I wouldn't say that it sounds as serious as restless leg syndrome, and I can't give you concrete diagnosis over the phone so be sure to bring him to a clinic if it keeps acting up. In the meantime, it wouldn't hurt to give him some topical ibuprofen."

"Okay, thank you Mrs. Donner. And I would like to take him to get it checked out, but... well, I'm sure your husband's told you about our situation..." There was a rustling noise as she shifted on the couch.

"Yes... I don't suppose your husband is enlisted..?"

"Enlisted? As in the army?" There was a short pause. "No, I don't think so. Why?"

"I'm not sure if you heard about the army offering families some health care packages... Sorry, I'm not being terribly helpful."

"Don't be silly, you've helped plenty. But you know, it's a bit quiet in the house, I'd better check up on -" With that he hung up the line and went to check up on the stove.

Mrs. Loire entered the room shortly after. She raised an eyebrow at his imitation of an innocent smile.

"The pot's starting to boil, mom. Do I put the fish in?" He asked giving the pale flesh a dubious look.

Riada retied her apron and shook her head, "No, first we want to add the onions and these veggies. Then we can add the fish."

"At least there's no peanut butter..."

"Peanut... what are you talking about? Are you sure you didn't hit your head too?" In spite of the joking manner, she gave him a concerned look.

Laguna gave a laugh and recounted his day while she chopped and added ingredients to the pot.

"So mom, do you think it's possible to win a fight without fighting?"

"That's a good question..." She stopped stirring to give it some thought. "I don't have a lot of experience with it, but I believe you can stand up for yourself without resorting to violence. It's the same with leadership; you can earn respect without simply screaming at your followers to obey you. Being strong doesn't mean you have to beat everyone else, you know?"

"I guess so."

"Sometimes you can just avoid bad things altogether by talking things out." Riada turned back to the soup and gave a taste.

"So, if I were to say that I've got too much homework to do my chores..." He said brightly with a cheeky grin.

"Ah-ah! You should also note that mothers get special privileges: anyone who complains too much to their mother gets the Cuchi-cuchi treatment and no dessert!" She started to make good on her word and they both burst out laughing.

* * *

Bright and early the next morning Laguna set off for Meech's place, although this time he carried a couple of cheese and jam sandwiches in his backpack.

"Good timing! Try this out." Meech tossed Laguna a canister.

"Cool, what do I do with it?" Laguna gave it a shake and held it near his ear before removing his pack.

"Spray some of that on the graffiti. Just leave it to soak for a bit while we clean up this yard."

They set about clearing scrap metal and the like for a couple of hours. Meech gave orders to his helper as he dismantled the T-Rexaur's tail.

"Move that box to the side of the house - no, the other side. There, you got it now." The older man wiped his hands off before turning the hose on.

Laguna stared amused at the miniature rainbows that flickered about as the vinyl was sprayed down. "Did the stuff work?"

"Not much of an improvement." He shook his head as the suds dribbled down leaving behind the red bruise on the wall. "It was worth a shot anyway. I'll just have to redo the siding."

"That's too bad." Laguna came up beside him. "Is that gonna take a long time?"

Meech stretched out his back, getting rid of the cricks and cracks. "I've got some time to spend so it's not a big deal. If I weren't holed up in this region I'd be spending my time wandering these hills. Or checking out the coastline."

"Wandering? Like, by yourself?" The boy flopped down in the shade. Spring was certainly making its arrival to the continent.

"It's a good way to travel. Have you ever heard of a Cactuar, boy? They're wily critters! Said to move so fast you're not sure they were ever even there." The grass gave a sigh as Meech joined the youth. "Of course, they live in a desert, so people aren't positive if they're just derived from rumour and hallucination or are actually something that fell from the moon."

"A desert? Like from where you're from?" Laguna sat up, a smile lighting up his face.

"Kind of. I've never seen one but apparently there's a whole island of them down south."

"That would be something to see!"

"Not sure if I'll ever travel that way, since I can't imagine there'd be much to fish for in that area - but you never know!" Meech snapped his fingers as a memory surfaced. "I did once catch a fish that lived in the sand, strangest thing. It was along one of the beaches near Balamb... I believe I was on the Rinauld Coast? Anyway, I'd heard Balamb fish was a delicacy and wanted to see if I could hook one off from that area - most of the harbour in town was filled with tourists and the like, not a good setting for fishing by oneself. Instead, I got a bite on my leg when I set my reel on that beach. Scared the living daylight out of me! But I managed to lure it away with some bait. It still cost me a trouser leg; you know what they say, there's no such thing as a free lunch, boy!"

Meech leant back, resting both hands on his thighs. "Speaking of lunch... now seems like a good time for a break. You hungry?"

"Starved!" Was his enthusiastic response, until he remembered the stash in his pack.

"Good, that should motivate you to hook something." Meech motioned for Laguna to follow him to the vandalized building, which allowed him to hide a guilty expression. "Now where is... Ah, here, take this."

"You're really into fish, huh, Mr. Meech?" Laguna inspected the rod passed on from the engineer. It was a sturdy pole, crafted from a light wood with a fine grain. He gave the fly a twirl with his index finger; it caught the sun's rays and reflected splashes of light back onto its neon tails.

"Gotta live a balanced life." Grabbing a bucket, gaff, some extra lines and his own fishing rod, Meech led the way down to the docks. "C'mon, we'll try our luck."

"Wow, this is so cool! I've never gone fishin' before! D'you think we'll catch one of those sandfish?"

"Stop scuffing you feet, boy. You're gonna scare them away." The fisherman set down his equipment and readjusted his hat. "Doubt we'll see that species here. Now sit over there and do what I do."

He sat down with his feet just above the water and tried to mimic the steady hands of an experienced mentor. "Do you go fishing everywhere you travel?"

"Well on this journey, after going to Balamb, I headed for Holy Glory Cape. Small, quiet town, lots of great fishers." Meech gave a flick and sent his line out in a graceful arc. "A few of them are helping me to fix up my boat."

"You mean you came all this way on a boat?" Laguna's line had a wonky launch but at least it landed away from the weeds. "All by yourself?"

"Like I was saying, it's a good way to get around. I get to meet new people, share stories, and learn things about cultures and technology. It also helps that my employer's stingy." Meech reeled in his line and readied it for another try.

"That's a pretty cool job! Man, if I went around the world I could see so many awesome things! Maybe I could have lots of stories to tell too." He looked up at the clouds. "It's just that... my mom's been kinda down lately. I bet she'd like to hear about neat places like that."

"Maybe so. You've got a bite on the line, boy. Let me help ya."

* * *

Monday: the bane of everyone not retired, or the savoury dish of those who enjoy the bounds of predictability and the limitations of schedules. In any case, it was Monday, morning, and time to catch the bus.

The first bell had come too quickly for Laguna; he'd spent the previous night (belly full of fish, grilled this time) endeavouring to complete Mrs. Bentley's extra homework and was not ready for class when it started. The combination of an uneventful day and lack of sleep seemed to slow the flow of time. At the end of the day, it came as little surprise to his teacher that only two of the five brawlers handed in the work she had assigned them. Coincidentally, Rudy had caught a cold and was not allowed to leave home - or so the rumour went.

"It's like _she knows_ I'm bad at fractions! What'd you get for number eleven?" Lazuli pushed the door open and led the way to the dinky parking lot.

His friend shrugged, letting the door close swiftly behind himself. "I dunno, man. But whatever, at least it's done."

"Yeah, you're right, we should just forget about it. Anyway, dad should be here any minute." The blonde dropped his bag onto the sidewalk. As long as he passed everything his grades didn't matter too much to him anyway; he knew what he wanted to do when he grew up. Part family tradition, part personal pride, he was aiming to follow in his father's footsteps.

Children were filtering out of the building in twos and threes leaving a trail of noise, and sometimes litter, in their wake. Laguna scanned the crowd until he spotted someone in particular.

"We're probably gonna... Hey, where're ya going?"

Laguna continued to walk closer to someone he normally would steer away from. There was something he had to do. "Hey, Vance, can I talk to you?"

A contemptuous snort. "Whaddaya want, Runt?"

"Uhm, look, I just wanna set things right." Laguna scratched his head to curb his nerves. "I'm sorry for all that stuff that's happened before... you know?"

"What makes you think I care?" Vance crossed his arms.

The would-be diplomat paused, "I'm not sure, really. I thought it would be the right thing to do though. Like, I don't wanna have this continue on forever. Can't we just get along?"

The redhead squinted his eyes, "Really?"

"Well, yeah. Don't you get tired of being the bully?" Laguna shifted his weight onto his left leg. "We used to be friends, right?"

Vance didn't respond immediately. He looked over Laguna's shoulder before answering. "Maybe. Doesn't look like Reynolds thinks so."

Back by the parking lot, Reynolds had approached Lazuli in a menacing manner. There weren't many witnesses in close proximity and not much around that would be useful for cover. Laguna let out a frustrated noise before taking off for his friend. The smaller of the two boys looked up as he drew near, an anxious expression across his features. In the moment he was distracted, Reynolds gave a shove across his shoulders.

"Stop it!" Laguna hurtled forward.

"Why? Whatcha gonna do?" In the taunt was the tell-tale tone of superiority born of picking and winning many a fight.

Out of ideas, Laguna stood there catching his breath. _Now what?_

In answer to his unvoiced question, the intimidator focused on his new target. Reynolds cracked his knuckles.

"Hey, how come your hands are a funny colour?" Laguna couldn't help but ask.

"What's it to ya?" Reynolds made a couple of reddish fists. "Maybe it's from beating punks like you."

"Say what you want, but you're not gonna to scare me anymore!" The words came out sounding more confident than he felt; regardless, Laguna took a step forward.

"That so?" Reynolds gave him a look over. Then quicker than what would have seemed possible, he shot out a leg and drove a foot into Laguna's thigh - the right one, of course. His victim dropped beside Lazuli who was just rising.

Reynolds' victory laughter was cut short as Vance gave a sharp whistle. A car was pulling up and the man inside did not look impressed with the scene. Mr. Dackel stepped out of his vehicle in time to see the other boys taking off.

"Dad!" Lazuli turned to his father uncertain if his luck was good or bad.

"Are you two all right?" Concern was evident in his voice, but his posture implied a repressed urge to catch the young hooligans.

Laguna grimaced but staggered to his feet too. "I'm not gonna get far like this..."

Lazuli's father opened the passenger doors and helped the children get settled, "Don't worry about it, we will get you home."

As they started down the road, Mr. Dackel began questioning his son about the quarrel. He also directed Laguna's attention to the first aid kit under the seat. "Potions can only do so much, do you want to see a doctor for your leg?"

Laguna shook his head remembering the conversation between his mother and Mrs. Donner, "Not really. But I'll be fine."

"Your mother talked to me earlier today." There was a sinking feeling in the pit of Laguna's stomach.

"I may be able to help." Mr. Dackel handed the boy a slip of paper as they approached his driveway. Laguna skimmed the glossy card, relief and confusion mingling together. "Go with her to this address; a man by the name of Kadowaki should be there. He works at the temporary base with me and has access to military resources."

**-*-**

(Nov. 1, 2010)  
**Author's Notes:**

Hey all! I apologize for the delay, this took way longer than I expected. Spent nearly 6 weeks in beautiful Haida Gwaii with no internet access. After getting back home, I've been enjoying a relaxing summer vacation (see also procrastinating, haha). Also, apologies for the totally cliché song choice. Nope, I don't have any good excuses for that one. Forgive me? Please? Will it help if I say that my dog was skunked earlier in September? ...

Anyway, I'm hoping that my attempts to speed things along aren't clashing too awkwardly with things like plot or quality. I keep saying we're going to get to the army arc, and if all goes according to plan we will! (Could be two chapters from now.)

Delays are going to be inevitable what with this being my final semester at university. On a positive note, we're going to (finally) meet up with Ward in the next chapter! With any luck it won't be in a way you'd expect (just to keep things interesting)... in any case, he'll be there! Promise.

Lastly, just in case you're looking for some impressive FF8 stuff to tide you over, check out some links on my profile page.

Suggestions, concerns, all that good stuff is welcome and appreciated :). Thanks everyone.


	5. Eccentric Contractions

_The future is not set. There is no fate but what we make for ourselves._

John Connor - (Movie: Terminator 2: Judgment Day)

.0o0.

_I've always thought that I would love to live by the sea,  
To travel the world alone and live more simply.  
I have no idea what's happened to that dream  
'Cause there's really nothing left here to stop me...  
But if my life is for rent and I don't learn to buy,  
Well, I deserve nothing more than I get  
'Cause nothing I have is truly mine._

Dido - "Life for Rent"

.0o0.

**Chapter 5 - Eccentric Contractions**

Waves of flavour danced above the steaming mug in front of him. One of the advantages of being on the western continent was that, while it was a little pricey, most coffee beans were a relatively easily accessible treat in Galbadia; back home Meech would be expected to shell out extra fees for the import. The climates in the east were deserts of opposing extremes and not conducive for certain crops like his favourite citrusy Lollapalooza, named after the canyon where they originated.

Crossing Galbadia's terrain had gone exceptionally well so far. Luckily the rush of summer tourists was not to come for a month; he wasn't sure he could endure a commute with sanity intact if there were kids screaming and running around. Meech caught a train, one with quite a few empty compartments, leaving the Great Plains but he would still need to rent a car in order to return to Paravlastima. News reports filtering through the train's speakers were full of static and depressing events; it was enough to put a damper on his morning.

"If Galbadia's not careful, they're gonna start stuff that won't end well." Meech heaved a heavy sigh, shook out a newspaper and switched off the noise pollution.

"Bah, even more drivel." He muttered between sips.

Still, Meech was willing to tolerate the over-the-top embellishments as it was the only paper he had found at the train station that covered global events. Splayed across the front and several pages to follow, were accusations of political corruption and threats of civil uprising, all in a barely tempered politically correct tone. Tucked between the international stories and classifieds was one article which, for better or worse, caught his eye.

_Beware the Supposed Solitude_

_While it has yet to be scientifically confirmed, there have been reports in the Eastern Continent of suspicious activity in the Abandan Plains of Esthar. While it is not uncommon for grand stories of mysterious lights in the sky to propagate amongst travellers, there have been ill-omened signs of something - or someone - more sinister lurking in the outskirts of civilization._

_Within the past few months at least one hundred bovines have been found slaughtered and positioned in a matter unthinkable to the common man. One tribe native to the region has claimed the loss of children along with their livestock. No carcasses or photographs have been produced; evidently the bodies were burned as soon as they were found due to religious reasons, but we were permitted to view the plain where several scorch marks were still apparent._

_Some explanations for these disturbing activities being considered range from pranksters to poachers. However, a more ominous explanation for these events has emerged: could it be that another one of Hyne's Descendents has risen? If so, what could this mean for the world?_

* * *

_Ding!_ Rycharde sounded the opening bell with one burly hand and a flurry of activity was unleashed.

"Order up!" _Readjust the apron and take a deep breath._

"Excuse me, miss." _An extra fork for the lady. Twist around an older gentlemen and bend over to retrieve a fallen toy. _

"Here you go ma'am." _Napkins to the right, one order of Bream Risotto to the left. Wave and nod as Mrs. Renovich says goodbye. Time flies when you're having fun. Remember to smile._

Not quite a sprawling urban setting, Paravlastima was more like a squid with the head as the corporate hub and each sprawling leg represented by a different district. It wasn't nearly as large as Dollet or other predominant cities but there was a sufficient amount of resources to support the population. There were a few restaurants and stores strewn around, however, the majority of living quarters were built as more of an afterthought when it became unlikely that the railways would expand from the capital to their corner of the world. For the time being, there was enough activity to attract entrepreneurs over the weekends allowing the smaller eateries and lone hotel to sustain themselves.

Rycharde put another order up to the pass and gave a nod to the closest waitress. "Riada, don't forget the extra toast for table four."

"Right, thanks." Riada set them on another plate alongside a pat of butter. "That reminds me, I've got to pick up a few groceries tonight. Do you know what time it is, Mr. Donner?"

"Quarter after two. What's the rush? The market's open until eight, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but I've got to get home before then to make dinner for me and Laguna." She scribbled another order and handed it to her boss. "The buses have been sluggish these days so it's been hard to get my timing right."

"Alright, if things aren't too busy you can sign out earlier."

"Really? Thanks!" Riada hurried to deliver the dishes while they were hot; an assortment of brunch items to a table near the windows.

The Nautilidae, a popular diner, had suffered financial loss a couple of years ago due to an unfortunate oil fire but the owner had scrounged up enough gil to reopen in another part of town. Riada had been waitressing on and off for Rycharde since the Loires had arrived, so when the cost of living rose beyond her comfort level she decided that they should follow suit and move closer to a steady source of income instead of juggling multiple jobs all over town. She was also trying to stash away some of her tip money to give to her son for a high school graduation present, and though the days were racing by she wasn't sure working overtime would solve the problem and do them good in the long run. So what if she had all the money in the world if it meant not being there for her son? Some days she felt like an Anacondaur chasing its tail; even if she got what she was looking for, it would hurt and not get her anywhere better.

"Oh, shoot, I'm running late again." The hours had slipped past with the steady flow of customers. Riada began emptying her pockets of extra napkins and straws in the kitchen.

"Ah, sorry about that, Riada! A promise is a promise: I'll sign you out, don't worry about that." The cook mopped his face with a handkerchief before turning to her. "Are you feeling okay?" Propped up against the wall, Riada took a steadying breath while willing the dizzy spell away. "I just haven't been sleeping well lately."

"Take it easy." He looked around for a convenient place for her to rest, but in a cramped kitchen he came up short. "Can I get you some water? I'm sure you have a few minutes before your bus arrives. Don't forget to make some time for yourself."

"No thanks, I really have to get going." Riada brushed a few strands of hair back. She rolled her eyes to diffuse his concern, "I thought the terrible twos were supposed to be the worst, but I forgot as kids grow so do their problems."

"And _your_ headaches, by the looks of it." Rycharde turned the timer for the oven off and then filled a glass with water. "You're looking a bit pale, drink this or else I'll dock your pay. You can chase down your bus afterwards."

Riada gave in with another word of thanks. The liquid slid down her throat, cool and soothing, a guilty reminder that she hadn't taken a break since starting her shift.

* * *

"Didja hafta kick my chair like that?"

"Dude, ya gotta stop zoning out in history if you expect to pass." Lazuli's grin was a far cry from the sympathy forced into his voice. He quickly sidestepped the predictable punch aimed at his shoulder and continued leading the way to his locker.

"Yeah, yeah. Just you wait, there's no way I'm _not_ gonna pass that class." Laguna leaned against the wall to avoid the crush of their classmates. Ever since the middle school closed due to budget cuts it had become more difficult to navigate through the halls of the remaining secondary school. "Hey, you gonna go to Jimmy's party tonight?"

"You serious?" Lazuli popped his head out of the slim, metal box that passed as a locker. "I've gotta catch up on calculus. Besides, you sure you can stay awake for that?"

"Aw, c'mon! That was just a bunch of hot air. I'm not gonna need to know about 'the history of HD cables' in even a year from now. With topics like that how can they expect people to not fall asleep or skip class altogether?"

In a sense Lazuli was glad that the teachers were overburdened with extra students, it allowed the kids who weren't interested in school to drop out with little consequence. Students like Reynolds and Vance. After Rudy's family left town for better opportunities on the west coast, Vance had taken to spending his time at the 'pit' (an aptly named area where the older students and unmotivated graduates would hang out and smoke things of the less-than-wholesome variety). As much as he wasn't the vindictive type, it seemed neither fair nor realistic to not hold a slight grudge. Lazuli didn't want to judge, but he felt the blame for unfortunate circumstance should be placed on poor judgement rather than fate.

"Anyway, learning's great and all that, but your grades are high and final exams aren't for a while. We've got lots of time to figure out the rest of our lives." Laguna stuffed his school work into a slightly dilapidated bag before pushing the front doors open. They were panelled with plexiglass to deter delinquents from destroying public property with some measure of success; sadly they failed to shine like their glass predecessors. "And it's Friday! C'mon let loose for awhile."

"I dunno, man." Already Lazuli could feel the vague sense of futility in trying to argue with his friend. "A few weeks can go by quickly."

Laguna made a pleading motion, managing to refrain from getting on bended knees, although that was going to be his next course of action should the current one fail. "Just this once! If you're not havin' fun within an hour, feel free to leave, but at least come and check it out, Laz."

"Well, maybe. Why are you so eager to hang out at Jimmy's?" Feeling his conviction fading, Lazuli switched tactics. "Wait, don't tell me, are you getting back together with that girl with the giggly friends?"

"_What?_" Passersby gave perplexed looks and Laguna could feel a wave of heat travel up his neck. He ducked their glances and walked faster to catch up with the blond. "That's not it at all! I'm just sayin' it'll be a good chance for you to shake off some of your stress from school. Anyway, her name's Sheena, and it's been over two months since we split up."

"That bad?"

"Well, when she said that we should just be friends, I thought she meant we'd actually still be friends." Laguna shrugged.

"Ouch, so that's what happened."

"Ah... she seems happy enough so I guess it worked out for the best. So, what about tonight? You in?"

They walked a bit further before Lazuli gave in to the wheedling. "Alright then, I'll pick you up at seven but you get to drive us home. If I'm gonna be out, I plan on having a few."

Laguna's bus rumbled into view crossing the fractured pavement. "Fair enough, I could use the driving practice."

"Dude, that's not raising my confidence _or_ helping your cause."

"Joking, man! I'm gonna head over to the docks; the old guy's supposed to be back from his trip today. See ya later." After double-checking his pockets for bus fare he hopped aboard the jalopy.

* * *

"Hey boy, just in time." Meech was standing in his driveway picking up piles of gadgets. The sun had been staying out longer as the season stretched out, so the grass was dry enough to lay out his equipment. It also helped that he hadn't been around to water.

"You need help today?" Laguna dropped his bag near the front door and followed the engineer to the garage.

"You wanna pack up some tools for me? I've got to be heading across the ocean."

Laguna stopped in surprise, "Already?"

"Don't tell me you're gonna miss an old guy like me!" Meech proceeded to deposit his armload into a box that was close to overflowing. "Here, take this and add it to that pile while I get some packing tape."

By the time he had finished dragging the cardboard box across the room Meech had returned. Laguna closed up a few boxes while Meech started cutting off strips of tape. "My contract's just about up and trouble's brewing back home; guess they can't handle things without me. Besides, I've been hanging around this area too long."

"What was your contract for? Inventin' stuff?"

"Nah, that was just for fun while I waited for people to get back to me. I was meeting up with researchers and the like, boring adult junk." Having finished with that the two went back outside to repeat the process with the remaining materials and contraptions laid out on the lawn. "Anyway, I'm looking forward to some real snow. Not the wimpy stuff you get over here. Maybe do some ice fishin'."

"Ice fishing?" Laguna slapped on another band of the sticky stuff without getting it tangled on itself or his fingers again. "You can do that in a desert?"

Meech's hearty laughter rang through the room, "I'm headin' through the northern part of the continent to see some other people before gettin' back to Esthar."

"Oh, makes sense." Laguna sat back on the concrete floor to count the boxes they'd stacked up. _No wonder my arms are sore..._

Meech pushed himself up and stretched back. "Now, before I head off I've gotta give you a test."

"A test?" Laguna wiped his forehead on the back of his hand feeling completely unprepared.

"Yeah, that's what apprentices do, they learn things, some important some not so much, and then they gotta show that they've been payin' attention to their teachers. We've been workin' together sporadically for a few years, so here goes." Meech rubbed his chin in thought. "What was the first lesson I taught you?"

After a few seconds of staring blankly, Laguna spouted off the only coherent thing that came to mind. "You don't have to resort to violence to protect what's important?"

"Hm, that's a good one." Meech shifted his hat to block the sunlight reflecting off his car. "Alright, you've done a lotta work and it's gettin' a bit late. Take those boxes by my car home with ya."

"Huh? What for?" Curious, Laguna came within reach of the vehicle but the packages were already taped shut.

"Some odds and ends, maybe you'll get some use out of them. I'll probably be moving out by the start of next week. I've gotta stop in at Timber to pick up a few items before catching the train to Balamb." Meech helped Laguna to balance the load before seeing him off to the bus stop. "See ya around, boy."

* * *

Laguna sat engaged in mindless channel surfing, an activity popular amongst the bored and insomniacs, with one hand propping his head up and the other balancing the remote control. There continued to be disagreements and unresolved agendas between the counterparts of the original Holy Dollet Empire leading to a lack of investment for strong programming; unsurprisingly, there wasn't much worth watching even on the best of days.

_Lame cat food commercial, old dudes in a political debate, commercial for vacuums, promotion for a... what? A show on flower arrangements?_ "Even I could make a series better than that! Still, I guess it's better than doin' homework..."

"Laguna, are you home?" The door shut with a well placed foot after Riada kicked off her shoes. She saw her son's coat and boots in a pile by the closet and assumed it was him in the living room. Though the volume was surprisingly subdued she could see colour spilling out into the hallway and bouncing off the beige walls (neutral colours were good for resale value) in a whimsical kaleidoscope. "Sorry I'm late; the bus broke down after I was done at the grocers. Is anyone else in?"

The cost of living had increased due to political pressures and a decrease in trade in recent times. They were sharing the duplex with another tenant to compensate, a quiet mill worker who kept mostly to himself. "Nah, no one was here when I got in. Don't worry about me, I'm not gonna be home for dinner anyway."

Riada paused in hanging her coat. "Oh, why not?"

"I'm goin' out." Not bothering to look up, he changed the channel again.

"Where to?"

"To Jimmy's. I'll be back later."

"Jimmy's, huh?" Riada hauled her bags into the kitchen before popping into the living room. "Is he having a get together?"

"It's just a party, I'm going with Laz."

"Okay. Do you have any homework for the weekend though? I thought you had that project?"

"Yeah. Well, there's nothin' to get stressed about."

She gave the TV set a dubious glance. "As long as your grades are all right."

"Mom, don't worry about it."Laguna frowned to himself; his mother didn't usually show anxiety about those things. "Things are fine, really."

Riada hesitated in the doorway and crossed her arms. "I just want to make sure you'll be able to do whatever you want after you're done school."

"After this spring I'm gonna check out the other coast, meet people, look for a job, do something fun. Don't worry about me." Laguna flipped the set off and stretched. He nodded in the direction of his bedroom. "It's almost seven, I'm gonna get ready to head out."

Riada tried to ignore the knot in her stomach as she watched him go. A whisper of the past brushed against her memories, '_Not every story is a fairy-tale! It's the cold, hard truth: happily-ever-afters aren't real.'_

* * *

"Listen, Laguna..." Maybe it was the music blasting in the background, but suddenly it didn't seem like the right time to disclose what was weighing on his heart. Lazuli changed his mind and shook it off. "Uh, you were right about coming here. Seems like a good party."

"Toldja! Now, if we can get that tension of yours to immerse it'll be all good!"

"Immerse? You mean disperse?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm sure that's what I said!" His laughter was drowned out as the two of them were separated and swept up into the crowd.

Laguna appreciated the tunes that were several decibels higher than the adult threshold, for one, it made it easier to slip in and join the throng of teens whilst forgetting about reality and the constraints of how to behave. He stopped several times to chat with classmates and people he didn't know. It didn't matter that half of the time he couldn't decipher what was being said; it was fun just to try lip-reading. Eventually, Laguna found a compact kitchen and nabbed a cup of something sweet-smelling. Taking a sip he found it to be fruity but not too strong, not that he had too much to compare it with.

Bobbing his head to the bass line Laguna slipped away from that room. He wove his way through the couples, keeping his drink raised carefully overhead until he found some elbow room downstairs. The space had a bit of a musty smell but the lighting wasn't all that bad considering. Laguna eyed a couch glowing under the gaze of the lone television sitting in a far corner of the basement and plopped down onto one of its faded cushions only to tilt his head in bewilderment at the screen.

"Man, this image is all screwy. That or this drink was stronger than I thought."

The snowy images shifted as the playlist upstairs continued to stream party vibes. Inconceivably someone upstairs found a way to crank the volume up. Some of the teens downstairs opted to go up for air and more refreshments while others did the opposite for more privacy.

Laguna's weight shifted from the addition of another body on the already unstable sofa. The new comer at the other end of the ramshackle furniture was a girl with shoulder-length, strawberry blond hair left unrestrained but not in tangles, which was surprising considering her emotional state. She was bent forward with a handful of tissues and a skirt dotted with tears.

He looked around but nobody else seemed to be paying much attention to her. Laguna had no idea what to do. Running wasn't an option. One, there were too many people in the way; two, that was a cowardly thing to do; and lastly, he probably wouldn't make it to the door without being noticed (the drinks weren't helping much with his already uncoordinated gait.) _What would be worse, to sit there and pretend to ignore her or to rudely butt in?_

Currently bathed in an artificial blue from the television set, the Mystery Girl sniffled visibly and began rubbing makeup off while Laguna squirmed uncomfortably. He tried to keep his eyes straight ahead while he debated, veering to his right would bring a couple lip-locking amongst the shadows into view.

_This is stupid._ Laguna shook his head and then leaned over to his left in order to be heard over the din. "Hey, are you okay?"

She jerked back and gave a glare at his intrusion. "Do I look like it?"

A horrible commotion could be heard through the floorboards above and the music stopped abruptly; it sounded as if someone had toppled over one of the massive speakers.

"Whoa, sorry!" He held his hands up in appeasement. If he hadn't witnessed them falling Laguna would have bet that this girl was too tough for tears.

Cheers erupted only to be drowned out as the music revved up again, albeit with half the volume as before. He tried to gesture in a joking manner, "It's just that, I was sitting here first... aaand now you're gonna make the seats all wet if you keep crying."

The plan backfired and only worked to fan her rage. Laguna could almost feel daggers in her eyes; she looked ready to punch his lights out. _Oh, I am so beyond dead._

She took a deep breath while Laguna held his, and then the redhead threw her waded up tissues at his head. "I hope you're not trying to pick me up with a line like that. 'Cause you can just forget it right now, jerk." She pushed her back against the arm of the couch, shoulders squared to his.

Laguna stared dumbfounded as the paper bounced off his forehead and landed somewhere on the carpet below.

"That's not... I mean, I wasn't trying to..."

"Forget it." She gathered her hair away from her face and turned away, irritation written across her features. "Sorry, I'm really not in the greatest mood right now."

"'kay." That was pretty obvious. He tried to get his muscles to relax, supposing that one of them should seem in control.

"It's just that my boyfriend is an idiot." The glare returned, but the wrath was focused on some unseen figure. "We just broke up and I don't even know why."

"I don't know what to say really..." Laguna shook his head while he scrambled to think of something consoling. _It'd be a lot easier if my leg weren't out to get me. _

"Well, at least you're honest." The girl produced some more tissue from a pocket in her skirt. "What's with the set?"

"I guess someone's been playing with a magnet. Doesn't matter too much though, I haven't seen the controller around anyway." His words came out in choppy sentences thanks to a leg cramp. Laguna hoped the music would fill the void.

Noticing the pained look, she raised an eyebrow. "You okay?"

"Will be in a moment..." He flashed a sheepish grin. _C'mon, pull it together!_ "Really, don't mind me. But you know what helps? Sometimes you just gotta think about other stuff. Stuff like sunshine and Chocobos. Good stuff to make you appreciate what you've got. Then when bad stuff happens, it won't seem so... bad, y'know?"

That drew an incredulous look, "Sunshine... and Chocobos?"

The cramp eased up enough for him to straighten out his leg. Laguna shrugged. "Works for me. What makes you happy?"

He gave a nod at the pattern on her skirt, "Butterflies and flowers?"

She rolled her eyes, shaking her head in disbelief. Laguna prepared to duck another barrage of tissue paper, which thankfully was unnecessary.

"You're ridiculous." The curls of red caught the dim basement lighting and made his stomach flip. A layer of tension appeared to dissipate, that or it was an illusion from the unreliable illumination. "But nice. Thanks for listening anyway."

"Ah... no problem." _Was I listening? Of course I was! Focus, Laguna... _

"You know what, let's go upstairs and have a drink." She got to her feet and started smoothing out her skirt causing the butterflies to dance around her knees.

Laguna pointed to the coffee table in front of them, "Oh. I've still got one..."

When she wrinkled her nose it made the freckles less noticeable, not that he didn't find them cute to begin with. "That stuff? No, come on. We need something better to celebrate with." She headed for the door, leading the way up the creaky old steps.

He followed close behind in order to be heard over the increasing percussion showdown from upstairs, "Celebrate?"

"Yeah, friendships ought to be commemorated." She continued to climb up being careful to not put too much weight on the rickety banister.

After a minute of scrutiny in the kitchenette, she snatched up two Pahsanas from an open cooler, passed one off to him and then raised hers with much flourish, "To friendship and peace!"

"Cheers!" He gave a boyish grin, trying to ignore how the cold liquid burned and left him feeling more thirsty than before. It wasn't as sweet as the random bottle he'd drawn from earlier and he was glad that the music was starting up in time to conceal a cough. "So, what's your name?"

"Audrey." She took another draught.

_I guess it's an acquired taste._ Laguna couldn't help but notice she wasn't frowning anymore. "I'm Laguna, nice to meetcha."

* * *

Laguna woke up to sunlight streaming onto his face, natural warmth notwithstanding; it was a bit of an unwelcome guest. Making a noise of discomfort amid the chorus of protests from his limbs and woozy gut, he sat up... in a porcelain bathtub.

"How the heck did I wind up _here?_" He rotated an arm and rubbed his face to wake up, all with much groaning. Details of the night before were eluding Laguna; from all the pounding in his head it was like the memories were duking it out with the leftover alcohol. "Well, this definitely isn't my bathroom..."

Between complaints and thanking whatever higher powers present that it was not a weekday, Laguna proceeded to put himself together and hunt down a clock and possibly a way home. It took some doing, however he managed to gather his things which were littered around the living room where more people had slept over. As he began to wander along the road that led back to his neighbourhood the time alone allowed his brain to catch up with the rest of him and a few thoughts came to light: he had no idea where Lazuli was, he had totally forgotten to call home the night before, and he had also met a fascinating redhead whose name continued to escape him.

Laguna slipped into the house as quietly as he could to mask his presence and to not stir up the brute of a headache building behind his eyes. Unfortunately his body was not used to being so cautious, even without the drinking; his foot caught on a ripple in the carpet sending him crashing into a wall.

"Who's there? Is that you, Laguna?" Riada paused on the stairs leading to their bedrooms. She glanced at her watch, it was nearly noon.

Wincing from the failed attempt, Laguna replied. "Yeah, it's me."

Mrs. Loire approached him and shook her head at the sight of her son on the floor. "See, this is why you're supposed to listen to your mother and not stay out all night."

"Uh... yeah, sorry 'bout that... I meant to call." Laguna accepted a hand up.

"It's a good thing you've still got your coat on; you're going to do some yard work as punishment." She crossed her arms.

"Yard work? Like what?" He yawned and wiped his eyes again in another attempt to wake up.

"I haven't thought that far ahead. I'm sure we'll find something for you to do. Rake the leaves." Riada tilted her head back slightly in contemplation. "Hmm, wait; it's spring so go pull some weeds or something."

Laguna paused before exiting through the back door. "Mom? I'm sorry for last night... for being a jerk and stuff..."

"It's alright, Buster. Sorry for being so intrusive." She offered a benevolent expression before motioning him to continue on his way. "Better hurry before it rains; it's kind of overcast out there."

* * *

Lazuli caught up to Laguna in the school hallway. "Hey, man! How'd you get home last week? Too bad you didn't come with us afterwards. I thought you'd left earlier 'cause I couldn't find you."

"Ah, I fell asleep somewhere at Jimmy's and then hoofed it back the day after." Laguna used his fingers to mime walking before continuing with a casual air. "Hey, do you know if most of the people who were at that party are from this school?"

"I recognized most of them. Why? Did you meet someone?" It wasn't that the school had a large population or an overflow of cliques to separate students by age or interest, instead, the turnover rate was abnormally high as families found it difficult to integrate and sustain themselves. There were a few groups of foreign exchange students but they too were fleeting.

A goofy grin found its way across his lips. "I think her name was Auburn, maybe?"

"You don't know her name?" His friend tilted his head back with a chuckle. "Well, Auburn's a colour, man... not sure that's right."

"We had some drinks! I dunno, I woke up in a tub..." Laguna took a breath to stem the babbling, "Uhm, she had hair like a sunset. And bright green eyes - the most captivating eyes ever."

"Hah, you're just biased. I think I know who you're talking about though; Audrey? Nice one, but I can't believe she would let you talk her ear off." Lazuli broke into broad grin as he dodged a punch to the arm. "Anyway, I've got a class with her; last period today. If ya hurry to the third floor you guys can hook up."

Laguna stopped dead in his tracks and felt his own green eyes widen. "Would that seem a bit weird?"

"Don't worry, just say you were gonna meet me. That way you won't look like a stalker."

"Alright... but, but what if she doesn't remember me? I don't even remember what happened that night... what if she secretly hates me or something?"

Lazuli stuck out his tongue and gave his friend a shove. "Stop worrying about it! Only one way to figure it out, and it'd be better to do it now instead of waiting."

"Really?"

"Yeah, otherwise all I'm gonna hear from you will be second-guessing!" The blonde laughed again. "So just meet me upstairs later."

"Got it." Laguna nodded.

Three o'clock rolled around quickly and Laguna found himself swimming against the tide of students pouring down the stairways. He paused outside one classroom and tried to peer in as it emptied. It was funny, the school year was almost over and even though he'd met up with Lazuli after class before, for some reason he couldn't get his mind to recall which room was the right one. _I guess I should've asked..._

Feeling a tap on his shoulder, Laguna whirled around. "I don't see -", but relief was cut short when he realized it wasn't Lazuli in front of him.

"Hey! Looking for someone?" Audrey shifted her bag and waited for an answer.

"Ahh..." Laguna's brain froze; he could see his friend not too far from where they were. Lazuli gave a wink as he advanced.

"Hey, 'guna. Sorry man, but I gotta head out. See ya later!" That along with a quick wave was all the aid he gave before running off with a smirk.

_Well, that's no help to me. What'm I supposed to do now? What do I say? And what did he mean before, about talking her ear off? I don't talk_ that _much, do I? _

Audrey cleared her throat. "I didn't know you were in this school too. I mean, I've never seen you at Jimmy's parties before."

"Uhh, yeah. I haven't been to his place that often. Usually we go to a barn near the creek so people don't complain about the noise." Laguna could feel his leg cramp up so he tried to ease the muscle by moving towards one side of the hallway.

Audrey narrowed her eyebrows, "Have you been drinking in class or something? You're acting strange today."

"What? No! I'm just... I didn't think I'd see you so soon. It's kind of sudden."

"Well, that's awful flattering of you."

"Oh crap, sorry. Um, can I make it up to you by carrying your stuff for you?"

She gave him a sceptical look. It wasn't that she thought he'd steal her belongings, not that she carried much cash on her, but she wasn't quite sure how to take the request. It was a bit antiquated in her opinion, but he seemed sincere. Audrey accepted reluctantly and only after asking if he was sure he'd make it down the stairs without dropping everything.

They made it out of the school and onto the street without incident, mostly with Laguna rambling on about anything and everything to keep his mind off of how heavy Audrey's books were on top of his own belongings. As the pair stood at a cross section to allow a few vehicles to pass Laguna took a moment to catch his breath.

"So, what do you think the future holds for us?" Audrey watched the trees sway with an almost meditative manner.

"The future?"

"Yeah, I'm sure you've had people ask what you want to do after school's done." At this she turned to him with a scrunched up face. "I'm kind of sick of that question to be honest. I mean, we can't even get a good weather forecast, how do they expect us to plan out an entire career?"

"I totally agree. It's hard to decide exactly what to do if you haven't gone out to see what's there." Laguna shifted the books as they continued. "Nothing's set in stone... I wanna travel for sure. Maybe get a boat and sail the open seas."

"Wouldn't that be dangerous though?"

"Maybe, but anything can be dangerous, so you might as well go all out and do what you love to do."

"I guess you've got a point there. I see myself making the world a better place. Maybe it's a lost cause... well, have you heard about the plans to move Galbadia 'forward'? They're talking about doing some major infrastructure construction all along the east coast."

"I'm sure it'll give people jobs."

"Maybe in the short run. Still, the environmental repercussions from all the deforestation that's going to be involved will be huge! My dad's a logger, so we've been through that a couple of times. I've heard people say it's also a cover up for an invasion."

Laguna frowned, "Sounds scary... and you thought my ambitions were dangerous!"

"I'm not about to blow up the government or something, just saying that there are important issues that we ought to take a stand on. After I graduate I plan to head to Timber, see what's going on and if I can help." Audrey fished through her purse to find her keys before motioning for her possessions. "Well, that's my place there. Thanks for walking all this way with me."

"No problemo. I usually take the bus so the exercise was a good idea."

"Oh, if that's the case there's a bus stop a few streets that way; you can just see the sign by those bushes. I think it'll take you close to Jimmy's place if you live that way."

"Cool." Laguna paused before giving a hesitant look, which she reflected back equally as awkward. "Uh... Hey, Audrey..."

"I'm not really looking for someone at the moment..." She recovered her poise and gave a playful poke to his shoulder. "Besides, you talk too much to be my boyfriend!"

Surprised laughter escaped his lips. "That's too bad, but not what I was going for... I just wanted to say you seem happier talking about your passions, so I think you'll be great at whatever you choose to do. Anyway, I'll see ya around; I can hear that bus coming this way!"

* * *

Meech stepped off the transcontinental train taking his time to breathe in the salty air customary with seaside settlements. He was going to miss it all. _Better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all?_

He picked up his carryon and set off for the hotel. The rest of his luggage was tagged and would be brought to his room; arthritic knees allowed him to swallow his pride and let someone else drag all of his gear. Check-in went smoothly and his lodgings were as he remembered them.

Meech didn't have to go far to find the lone café in Balamb, it was quaint and not overly crowded. A co-worker in Esthar had sent him a last minute recruit request and he was passing through the area. The fact that the graduate had applied for an engineering position helped seal the deal. So there he was.

He ordered a sandwich, fish of course, and a coffee while he waited for his prospective draftee. Not long after his brunch arrived did a young, lanky, bespectacled man clutching several sheets of paper come into view. Meech rose from his seat to invite the nervous gentleman to join him; the teen gave a relieved smile and hurried over.

"First off, let me extend my congratulations for graduating with honours." They shook hands before taking their seats on the white patio chairs.

"Thank you, sir. I didn't expect someone to come all this way in person." He removed his glasses to wipe them as they had fogged up during his anxious search for the person with whom he was supposed to meet at twelve-sharp, as the letter had indicated.

Meech took a leisurely sip of his coffee to avoid burning his tongue. "Have you thought about the proposal then?"

"Yes... If I read correctly, it is a full scholarship?"

"Better than that, you get room, board and a chance to work on actual constructs while you go to class. Only the best in Esthar, after all."

The younger man nodded as his speculations were confirmed. "How will I get there?"

"A special trade ship will come here and meet you if you want. I recommend it since the overland trip from Trabia can get delayed due to weather conditions or monster encounters."

"Thank you, I'm really curious to see the research opportunities." It was the first time a smile surfaced.

"I'll bet. See you there, Mr. Kramer."

The teen repositioned his glasses self-consciously and stood as tall as he could. After thanking Meech again he picked up his map and notes and made his way to the docks. Cid had not been sure what to expect and found himself second-guessing his choice of words during that brief conversation. He shook his head and let the sound of the gulls distract him.

Like many intellectually gifted individuals, throughout his childhood he had felt socially challenged. He found it hard to fit in when everyone wanted to label him like some kind of lab specimen; 'special', 'exceptional', 'nerd', 'loser', the list was long and mostly painful. Esthar seemed like a promised land. A place that was looking for him. Somewhere with people he could identify with, those wanting to further the possibilities of humanity. A wonder land without the pressure to dumb down to fit in. Cid inflated his lungs and nodded to himself. Yes, this was destiny. This was the right course of action.

* * *

"So, that's it, huh?" Laguna kicked an unfortunate stone in his path.

"It's not like it _wasn't_ my choice. I meant to say something before we graduated..." Lazuli had been practicing the speech in his mind but it was still hard to not sound apologetic.

"Really? You sure about that?" It wasn't an accusation, just a question of concern. Laguna couldn't imagine being happy to have orders barked down at him all the time. He also wasn't willing to accept that having one person forcing their will on someone else for their own good or imposing their ideas of perfection would lead to a fulfilling life.

"I'm doing this because it's what I've always planned on doing. Moving back is convenient for me just as much as it is for my dad." It wasn't something he felt he could define. The bedtime stories of heroes he would be following under, the good they had done in the world, it was all inspiring and an influential force in his life. "It's always been my goal to be like him. He's a good guy, and I know it'll make him proud if I join the army."

"Alright, man. I'll trust your judgement." Laguna conceded with a smile; he didn't want to be a hypocrite either: his friend was free to do what he chose.

"Yeah, it's always been better than yours." They both burst out laughing letting the tension dissipate.

Laguna wiped a mock tear from his eye after the hilarity subsided. "Ouch, man. Ya know how to hurt a guy!"

"Speaking of which, how's the leg doin'? Did you run out of the Carbz?" Carbamazepine had been prescribed by the military doctor that Mr. Dackel had suggested, but only for a trial run since it had some success with restless legs syndrome. It was an expensive drug and not readily available for the public, seeing as its main use was for soldiers with posttraumatic stress disorder or certain cases of depression.

"Nah, it made me feel like hurling so I didn't really use it that much." With a pained expression Laguna placed a hand across his abdomen for emphasis.

"Bummer." A light breeze smelling of freshly cut lawns and barbecue rustled through their hair. Lazuli pocketed his hands and shuffled around. "So, what're your plans?"

"Me? I'm gonna make it up as I go. See what's out there in the world." Laguna finished with a warm smile and a shrug, "Maybe we'll bump into each other, huh?"

"Yeah, man!"

* * *

Even though it had been just over two years since he had made it back to Esthar from the Trabia region, Meech could swear he was still adjusting to the consecutive changes in climate. It wasn't just his bones being jarred; getting back to work meant meeting and relearning names and faces. That along with catching up on the technological advances, political races, laboratory rules, regulations and taxes... he almost regretted going away for such a long stretch of time save for the fact that he had used most of his precious vacation time to extend his stay. The guilt subsided when he remembered that the sabbatical would probably be his last until his retirement.

Of the people he had been sent out to recruit for the almighty Estharian Empire, he had only failed to find two people and a scant few people had declined. The rest had made their way to the luminous city of glass and were progressing well in their studies. One of the small number of people that had been inducted into the research facilities without Meech's prior knowledge or assessment was a young woman in Dr. Odine's research department. According to office rumour, she had been discovered by Odine on one of his desert excursions. Her files indicated that she, Ms. Adela Ochimy, had originated from the poor district and interestingly enough was quite gifted in the area of creature capture and containment. Undeterred by the lack of formal training, not that Meech himself felt that that should be the end all be all of an apprentice, the good doctor had invited her back to the labs to assist him in furthering his experiments.

Meech had yet to meet Adela, but with all the new staff members and projects going on he hardly saw anyone outside of the engineering squad. He did find her story of dedication and her ambitious drive for improvement to be compelling; big things were in store for her. As for him, time was pressed and he found that what had once been the odd lunch meeting had morphed into time-consuming sessions with the occasional bite to eat. Meech's thoughts continued to revolve around retirement.

The next presentation was about to begin and papers were shuffled about to make room for a scale model. Even though many of his coworkers and all of the students were able to create three-dimensional replications on the computers, Meech insisted that they be able to construct their ideas the old-fashioned way too. In his mind, if they did not have the patience to skilfully produce on a small scale they should not be allowed to use materials to build something more permanent.

As people settled into their seats again Meech turned at the sound of a familiar, thick accent. Dr. Odine was scurrying down the hall with an assistant close behind. Despite being taller the younger man, Mr. Kramer if Meech remembered correctly, was having difficulty keeping up whilst juggling several documents, instruments and jotting down whatever his diminutive superior was dictating. Cid Kramer had originally been slotted to join Meech's group but the architecturally trained Balamb resident had become more interested in magic research - something rarely delved in where he came from.

The perimeter lights dimmed so the focus was on the centre of the table, and Meech cast a wistful look at his empty coffee mug, wishing (and not for the first time) that he had stacked up on more beans before crossing the sea those two years ago. But now, it was back to work.

* * *

Laguna whistled to himself, one hand swiping at a shelf overhead with a rag and the other gripping the wooden ladder supporting himself and a couple of heavyset books. It had taken him a couple of years to find that the reality of travel expenses had a way of delaying grand schemes like globetrotting, in spite of this he'd managed to find jobs along the way that usually paid enough for the essentials. The modest, brass bell that hung above the door gave a ring alerting Laguna to a customer.

"Hi there! Be right with ya." Laguna called over his shoulder as he shoved a book into place. He probably didn't need to shout since the store front was limited by cumbersome buildings pressing in on both sides. In spite of its smaller size, Mr. Tolkan's shop had been around long enough for it to become a popular landmark in the Hasberry Plains. Laguna always found time to talk to patrons or those just passing by. Most of the people were tourists on their way to or from Dollet which gave him a variety of things to talk about.

A rather tall and somewhat intimidating figure entered wearing a look of surprise upon seeing the precarious position of his host. He replied in a deep, but amiable rumble. "No rush, storekeep'."

"Hey, hey, now. Although it's a steady position, I'm not that high up the corporate ladder." Laguna wiped a palm on his pants to slough off the dust while reconsidering his strategy of dusting and restocking shelves at the same time. As he reached for the last book the ladder gave an uneasy groan and the motion put him slightly off balance. "W-Whoa!"

All seven feet of the newcomer came to the rescue and steadied the wooden frame with one leg while gently lowering Laguna to stand upright on the fringe of tawny carpet that bordered the inner bookshelves. He stepped back with a doubtful stare. "You were saying?"

"Uh, thanks man." Laguna let another 'whoa' pass under his breath and did a double take. _That can't be Reynolds..._ After taking a minute for a few steadying breaths Laguna shook himself out and perked up. "So, uh, welcome to Strickland's Books and, well, magazines, comics, etcetera, etcetera."

A bemused grin spread across the hefty man's face causing the daunting scar that barely missed his left eye and wound down to his jaw, to retract. He gave a nod. "You alright now?"

"Yeah, no worries, man!" The shorter of the two extended a hand and returned the countenance. "I'm Laguna. You lookin' for anything in particular?"

After accepting the handshake the man replied, "The name's Ward. I was looking for some info about upgradin' weapons."

"Well, let's see..." Laguna wandered towards the cash register and squatted to flip through a few magazines. "We've got a few mag's on rifles and the like..."

"That's not my thing. D'you have anythin' for more heavy-duty gear?"

"Ah, okay. There might be something to your right there, check by the big, green book on swords."

Ward tightened his bandanna and set his duffel bag near the wall closest to him. "Which one?"

"No worries, I'll get it!" Hopping up, Laguna plucked a few glossy publications from the rack and presented them with much gusto. "We're out of stock on a few of the newer releases, but if you're around town for awhile we might get a new delivery."

"I'm not gonna be here for too long, just passin' through." Ward perused the selection at a considerate pace to avoid bending the pages.

"Yeah, where you off to?" On his walk back to the register Laguna picked up a few items that had spilled onto the linoleum.

"Probably Deling City. I figure I may as well try my hand at gettin' work at the capital."

"Is that what they're callin' the capital now? Weird."

"I'm surprised you didn't hear about it sooner. Wasn't there a big ceremony and all that press coverage when Vinzer took over?"

"I guess so; I haven't been paying much attention to the media..." Laguna scratched his head in an awkward fashion. "And I kind of forgot to pay my cable bill. In any case, that seems like a lot of hoopla for just a name change."

"Well, that's politics; I don't blame ya for not following it. Not sayin' I support the guy either." Most of the magazines were returned to the shelf so that the tall customer could prioritize his selection. "Do ya carry the _Battle Series_, too?"

"Yeah, they're in the Monthly section there. I'm not really into that series much."

"The recent ones are an improvement. Anyway, I was thinkin' of joinin' the forces in Deling." Ward bent over to inspect the covers. "Word is that they treat ya better closer to where the facilities have been bolstered. Guess it always comes down to money. Either way, I figure it's a good way to learn more practical skills: they train ya, feed ya, and pay ya!"

"Yeah? I never thought of it that way... Hey, if you need a hand gettin' around town while you're here, just come by and give me a holler!" Laguna shifted his weight to rest his elbows against the glass countertop. "So where're you from?"

"A little fishin' village on the northeast coast. You heard of Holy Glory Cape?"

"No kidding? I've never been there but I know a guy whose passion is fishing... he might've mentioned that place at some point. What's it like there?"

"It used to be an autonomous place, mainly an offshoot of Dollet. Some hotshot in the G-army thought we were a base of Timber rebels, Timber of all places, so we were overrun by a wave of Galbadian troops."

"Whoa! I hope no one was hurt! But, hey, if they did a thing like that, why would you want to join the Galbadian Army? Unless..." Laguna ducked his head and continued in a conspiratorial whisper. "You're some kinda double agent?"

Ward gave a snort. "After they left, a Timber faction invaded; made more of a mess than the army had! No one was badly injured. I'm neutral to both groups. It's part of why I had my parents' blessing to leave the village."

"Oh. Well, that kind of sucks still."

A shuffling noise in the back interrupted their conversation. "Hey! I don't pay you to stand there and yap!"

The sound of Mr. Tolkan's dry voice caused Laguna to give an exaggerated sigh as he hung his head, "Busted."

"I gotta go anyway. Here, don't worry about the receipt." Ward handed over the exact amount for his selection which Laguna accepted with a word of thanks.

"See ya."

Floor creaked behind him as he finished ringing it up in the till. "You're lucky that guy bought something."

Laguna rolled his eyes. _Here we go again. The boss man's gonna lay down the law. _

Mr. Tolkan was a bit on the impatient side; even on a slow day Laguna could expect to be disciplined for socializing with the customers. If it weren't for the decent wages it was hard to see how the man could interest anyone to stick around for more than a couple of shifts.

"Strickland's is not a library. If you talk to them too much while they're browsing, they'll end up reading the whole thing instead of buying it!" The codger crossed his arms seemingly ignorant of the fact that his employee could just about recite this speech in his head word for word. "Now let me give you a gil's worth of free advice..."

Laguna straightened out his back, trying not to slouch; the last time he'd done so he had been awarded gotten an extra lecture for leaning on a chair. An occasional nod of imitated assent allowed his mind to wander. The discussion with Ward had brought up thoughts of his own family. He hadn't been avoiding his mother intentionally, but years had passed since they'd been in contact.

It wasn't long after the Dackel's had moved out when Mrs. Loire had been rushing to escape the brunt of a summer downpour, rare in their parts but not unheard of. On the way to her usual bus stop Riada had lost her footing and had to go to the hospital for a hip injury. Thankfully and disregarding the rain, some generous stranger had seen her collapsed on the sidewalk and driven her there. As soon as Laguna was off the phone he had left his part time job, a painting outfit that was a lot more complicated than he had anticipated, and was by her side.

A nurse had explained that though his mother had been admitted with a relatively easy to resolve injury, further tests for concussions had given results the doctor was worried about. Once she was conscious, Riada had brushed aside questions of her condition and made light of the state her son was in instead; the paint still splattered across his clothing and in his hair, what a mess.

"I'll be fine. I don't want you to be confined by this, you've got your own life to live and if you spend it here worrying over me then I'll run off without telling you." She had joked unflappably. "Really, I'm not kicking the bucket here and now."

He had spent the next week trying to be useful without getting in the way but found it a difficult task. Laguna remembered the texture of the linens as he helped prop her up in bed; for an undersized hospital at least there were small comforts to be found.

"From what I hear, one of the doctors is willing to take me and a couple of other patients with him to Malgo. Heading back after so long... Funny isn't it?" Riada had tried to keep her voice upbeat as she asked him to bring her bag to the bed. "I wanted to get you a surprise, kind of a late graduation present. So, here..."

Laguna had stared befuddled at the object she passed on to him. It was a standard, white envelope with nothing written on it. The only thing abnormal was the bulky feel. "What's this?"

"One of the nurses told me you weren't going home or to work, that's no good."

"Ah, I'm not really suited for that place anyway..."

"Hey, let me finish, okay?" She had wagged a finger in an admonishing way. "I've put aside some gil for you in that envelope. I want you to go and find what life has to offer; have fun but don't go too crazy!"

His mother had cleared her throat before continuing, "Laguna, the best thing you can do for me is to remember this: no matter what your job is, or how much money you have, or who you become, do everything with a good heart."

Her tone hadn't been harsh but something in the way she delivered that sentence made his heart ache. _Hospitals suck._

"Mom..."

"C'mere and give me a hug."

His words muffled by the close contact. "But mom, what about you? What if -"

Mrs. Loire sat back and looked her son in the eyes. "Ah ah! There'll be none of that talk. This isn't my deathbed. Besides, if you say something bad, it'll come true. Now, put a smile on for me; it'll be alright."

After leaving the hospital he had sold the items Meech had given him, mainly an assortment of Stones, Powders, and Fish Fins. The gil garnered from that sale and a good portion of his mother's gift had gotten him through a few years of hitchhiking and led to his current position in a tourist stop just outside of Dollet. Every now and then he would send a trinket or note to Malgo by carrier.

"Loire! Are you paying attention?" Laguna blinked to find Mr. Tolkan's wrinkled face directly in front of his and looking unimpressed.

"Of course I am! I'll get right on it." Not entirely sure what was being requested, Laguna made a gamble and began heading for the broom closet to bring out some cleaning supplies. With the restocking done it couldn't hurt to assume the old guy wanted the cardboard and dust out of sight. Much to Laguna's relief, his boss shook his head, making the wisps of hair flutter, and made his way back to the office upstairs.

He set about tossing dust rags into a hamper and breaking down the boxes that were scattered near the aisles. Smashing the cardboard down so that the pieces would fit in the bin out back was a gratifying task but over too quickly.

Laguna leaned on a side counter, "Is this what I want to be doing? Not exactly what I'd imagined..."

It was another small town, surviving on castoffs from neighbouring areas and making do with people passing through to avoid monster encounters and refill on supplies. He didn't mind the transient atmosphere, the flow of people was inspiring, a hint of exciting places left to explore.

Mr. Tolkan's bell let out another bright jingle from its post, rousing Laguna from his thoughts. "I'm just in the back, be there in a sec!"

Laguna closed the back door and set the cleaning supplies out of the way. Rounding the corner, he opened his mouth to greet the prospective customer only to stop short. "Talk about a date with the past..."

The girl, flipping pages in a magazine already, spun at the sound of his approach and broke into a wide smile. "Oh, now _this_ is perfect timing! Laguna, it's been ages!"

"Hey, you remembered my name!" He shook his head in surprise, "What brings you here, Audrey?"

"Hah, I'm the one who should be surprised. I'm just meeting some people here before we head out to Timber. I hitchhiked and somehow got here early."

"Timber, huh? What's going on there?"

"We're holding a peace rally. We've got to our message heard before the new government gets too far along and forgets their promises."

"A peace rally? I thought you were into tree-hugging?"

She laughed, "Yeah, I've come to the realization that it's harder to get people to pay attention to things like that if there's a bigger confliction hanging over all our heads. But I haven't given up hope. I'm supporting the Flying Mogs, they're a group based in the Lanker Plains, that way I can marry my interests together. We're campaigning to prevent Galbadia proper from strong-arming and swallowing all the smaller towns. Timber's a prime target with its natural resources - just like I'd thought."

"I bet. D'you think Delinko's gonna go that far?"

"You mean Deling?" She put the magazine back on the shelf, giving it a tap so it would stay upright. "I wouldn't put it past him."

"Come to think of it, there've been more people flocking to the army recently."

"I guess that's something the Mogs are going to have to deal with later." Audrey blew her bangs out of her eyes. "So, what's new with you? I would never have expected to find you some place as tame as this."

"I know, right? I'm just making my way around the world." Laguna snatched up a broom to lean against. "I figure I've gotta save up to afford to rent a car and get some fuel; wandering through the desert without a reliable weapon's not the brightest plan."

"You don't say." She scooted around the counter to let him sweep the front.

"Definitely. I won't be trying that again if I can help it."

Audrey pulled her hair into a ponytail and added in a teasing voice, "Maybe you should become a Chocobo-carrier! Deliver the mail. I hear the pay is good and those birds can outrun almost anything."

"Ya know, that's actually a pretty good idea." He bent over to pick up the welcome mat to give it a shake.

"So, what is there to do in this place?" Audrey passed him the dust pan.

"There's lots of stuff to do! Hey, my shift's over in an hour. You wanna go out for a drink?"

Like a cascade of water down a cliff, her laughter echoed slightly in the barely occupied store. "That's the best you can do?"

"Well, it's like a special occasion!"

"Really, my arrival means that much?"

"That, and it's my birthday..." He paused to scratch his head absentmindedly, "Actually, it's next week, but whatever. C'mon, I just got a paycheque so it's my treat!"

"All right, but it has to be a better pub than the one in Paravlastima. This girl's got standards."

An hour and a half later the two were settling into a booth with a view. The sun had already begun to sink beneath the horizon leaving the sky streaked with colour.

Laguna tapped a coaster on the table. "So, about this Timber issue. What happens when all the trees are removed? Is there something else that can be used as power?"

"Do you know about Esthar? I've heard they're looking into all sorts of alternative energy."

"Really? That sounds great! Weren't they also big on magic research?"

"I'm shocked you knew that!" Audrey paused to give the waitress their order before finishing the thought. "They've kept a lot of the old legends from Centra. Especially those tales on Sorceresses and Knights, it's pretty romantic."

"Chivalry's cool and all, but I dunno about getting decked out in all that clunky metal." Their waitress placed their drinks in front of them with a quick smile before seeing to their neighbours.

"Why not? I thought guys were into being macho knights in shining armour?"

Laguna leaned back and pointed a finger, "Hah, easy for you to say! You ever hear 'bout those monsters that can use electricity?"

"Oh c'mon, don't tell me you buy into all that stuff they post in those magazines." Unimpressed, Audrey rolled her eyes.

"I'm serious! In the desert there're rumours of static storms coming outta nowhere, and then _pow!_" He made wiggling motions with his fingers to imitate an exploding firecracker and shower of lightning.

"There you go; keyword is 'rumours'."

"Touché." Laguna tilted his head in defeat.

"Well, time for that drink. So, you're going to hit twenty-five, huh?" She raised her beverage, a cheery concoction with many tiny bubbles, in an animated toast. "Looks like you're halfway there!"

While the drinks were cheap, the glass still made a pleasant noise as they made contact. "Halfway? Last I heard life expectancy's better than fifty!"

Her lips curved into a wicked smile, "Not for people like us. The good die young, you know."

"If that's the case, then we'd better make the most of our time!" Laguna knocked back his shot in one go.

"That's what I'm talking about!"

Laguna awoke the next morning to find himself in a congenial, borderline puny, hotel room. A vague sense of déjà vu buzzed around his head. He moved to burrow further into the sheets only to have his head get caught on something. Sitting up he could catch a glimpse of his reflection in a mirror across the room. _What the...?_

Upon closer inspection he found that a newly inserted earring had gotten caught on the bed sheet. Laguna gave a wince after flicking one of the silver rings, both lobes were still swollen.

"Oh well, at least it looks cool." Laguna rubbed the sleep from his eyes and caught sight of a note on the dresser.

_Thanks for the drinks, party boy. I've paid for your room, so, happy birthday! We better run into each other in the future! Got it?_

"What a night..." With even more questions left unanswered, Laguna slunk back to the bed to bury himself in the covers.

**-*-**

(Apr. 1, 2010)  
**Author's Notes:**

Bam! More characters! But it's so hard not to have them... well, most of them are actual characters from the game, so no guilt there. (I did tweak Adel's name a bit, but that's just temporary).  
Anyway, another long chapter to make up for the lack of updates! I ended up including things that were meant for later chapters because I looked at my somewhat-timeline and it seemed best to do so... Thanks for enduring the accelerated growth and scene changes. I'm going to reread everything later and tweak a few things; if you catch anything that should be fixed don't hesitate to mention it.  
Hopefully things will not get too delayed. The end of the term's coming up and all that lovely Dissidia Duodecim 012 stuff is impossible to resist! I'm obsessing already and have yet to buy/play... but, but, but... Laguna's back! I can already see the many fan art displays of the "Greatest Attack _Ever_!" Not used to his Japanese voice, but oh, Armando Valdes-Kennedy you are perfect in your role!

**Disclaimer:** the character design for Mr. Tolkan was based somewhat on Mr. Strickland from _Back to the Future_.  
Speaking of movie inspiration, I was just noticing how much this story has paralleled the original _Karate Kid_ (no one can replace Mr. Miyagi)... Childhood movies, you are haunting me!


	6. Blasphemous Theophany

(May 1, 2012)  
**Author's Notes:**

Sorry for the delay in updates!  
The timeline of this story is in need of a little back-peddling due to an overzealous chapter 5 (but I like the flow of that one so it's staying for now). When you hit Laguna's section we'll be back on track temporally.

_I tremble  
They're gonna to eat me alive.  
If I stumble  
They're gonna to eat me alive...  
I get wherever I'm going  
I get whatever I need  
While my blood's still flowing  
And my heart still beats...  
Come take my pulse  
The pace is on a runaway train.  
Help, I'm alive, my heart keeps  
Beating like a hammer. _

Metric - "Help, I'm Alive"

.0o0.

**Chapter 6 - Blasphemous Theophany **

Even at the peak of their civilization, the people of Centra held wielders of magic in a revered and often ostracized position; naturally this led to the weaving of embellishment with many tales. One such fable, at once legend and the start of an eternal chain of prophecy, survived the moon's tears by remaining on the tongues of those escaping from Centra to the Eastern Continent:

_Despite their array of talents, sorceresses were not to be lone figures of power. The gifts of the Great Hyne required intimate bonds not only amongst those whom possessed them but also between the sorceresses and their knights. In the beginning, one of the first to experience this transfer of supernatural powers was left with no direction or words of warning. She, her name long forgotten and different with each telling, accepted out of empathy for the tired deity and his plight. Her village had no connections to, or knowledge of, the Zebalgas; those who had fought to claim Hyne's false peace offering._

_Vascaroon, the astute man who revealed the truth behind Hyne's deception to the Zebalga clan, happened upon the woman in deep despair. Sitting alone in a forested hillside, far from the shelters of her people (as they had disowned her out of fear), the appearance of a stranger startled her. He was of a calm demeanour and was quick to put her at ease. Sage Vascaroon held no reservations over the uncontrollable inheritance; together they took to the woods away from the sting of being an outcast and he served to share her burden. Her anxiety dwindled as their link developed; his strength passed to her and her magic intrigued him. Soon their relationship gave confidence to walk among the people Vascaroon had met with before._

_Unlike her protector, the Zebalga clan still held much anger in their hearts over past events. What was to be a reunion banquet became a riot, the fury exploding in front of the couple. Once more they fled into the shadows. Once more they sought solace within the bonds afforded through Hyne's providence. Vascaroon begged forgiveness for not foreseeing their potential for harm. Even as the girl consoled him he cursed himself for not having power of his own to wield - for she had taken a personal oath to do no harm with what was endowed to her. Back into the woodland that had harboured them before, Vascaroon constructed a refuge for his sorceress and went back to parley with King Zebalga._

_Being swift in mind and tongue the knight hoped to conjure a favourable outcome for both parties. The discussions went on for three days and three nights, and on the dawn of the fourth it was agreed that they should meet again with the sorceress present - for Vascaroon had convinced them there was no malice in her heart. As a sign of their good will, he was given the leader's ceremonial blade (an embodiment of respect) and one of the clan's best horses to retrieve the sorceress..._

* * *

Cid sighed and rubbed a bleary eye from beneath his spectacles while scrolling through the news on his computer. Although most of his four years in Esthar had been spent secluded in the lab or in class even he couldn't remain oblivious to the changes. There was a sense of unrest that lingered in the way people walked too fast to give more than a quick nod, in the way rumours of scholars splitting into factions were whispered in corners, in the way he would wake up with a racing heart but have no memory of the dream before.

He had strived to get into this environment and at the start it was difficult to imagine why anyone would want to leave. Putting aside Odine's eccentricities, working in Esthar had exceeded his expectations; the streets were clean, the people polite, and there was an emphasis on exploration and improvement in all aspects of life. The research he was conducting was pushing the limits of what anyone would have considered possible, just straying on the fringe of sanity. The man with an ego larger than his physique had been investigating how monsters were able to call upon reserves of spells and trying to determine if this ability could be duplicated for human purposes, especially for those with no previous exposure to magic. He had also proposed that since it had been decades since the last Lunar Cry, the existing monsters must have a means to sequester magic from the earth itself.

In what was a moment of being in the right place at the right time, Cid had been thrust into Odine's personal jurisdiction since transferring from the architectural faculty. Cid had picked up on the intricacies of the program more readily than the other graduates and as such, he now found himself in charge of one of two teams. Odine was leading the magic analysis group while Cid would be delving into the potential accessibility for the recently dubbed 'Draw points.'

In order to investigate these ports of magic, one of the items on his agenda was to use his architectural background to modify Esthar's Deep Sea Research Center. Originally the mobile island had been built to study marine life unobtrusively; however, certain individuals with political clout felt that that funding could be spent in a more beneficial manner.

_Money, it always came down to that._

A low sigh escaped through his lips as he leant back in his chair to wipe fingerprints and dust off of his glasses. Hopes of distracting himself by catching up with what was going on outside the confines of his scientific cloister were dashed away. Even though he was still a scholar at heart, Cid's mind as of late was preoccupied by politics and his dislike for it. In the past he probably wouldn't have paid as much attention to the political scene but since his occupational aspirations relied heavily on government funding it was hard to avoid. Curiously enough, one name that he'd been hearing more often was that of a woman who used to assist in Odine's monster research.

Although he had never worked with Adel, he could remember the beginning of her campaign; the flourish with which she was presented to the public and the promises she had made in return. _Promises - the fodder of many a politician._In this case, the determination emanating through Adel was thoroughly convincing and it allowed her to win over people. Those in the know could sense the shift in perception and were eager to use it for their own gain before someone beat them to it; Cid imagined that the possibilities of things implied (mainly magic for the 'ordinary') was also enticing for personal gain. And how ironic that a former player in Odine's research was now working with those deciding the doctor's fate?

Cid tapped the keys to clear some settings and log off. _Maybe it would work to their advantage..._

* * *

She shivered. How had she gotten to this point? There was no way to rewind or rewrite.

She shivered even though she wasn't the one to fall in. Eyes closed or open, the lake remained in front of her; a looking glass shrouded with the cryptic whispering of melting snow. The sole reason the teen remained at the scene was because her father had instructed her to do so.

She buried her fingers as deep as they could compress without breaking the seams of her pockets. No, the underlying, inescapable truth was that there was no alternative for her.

"Edea."

The girl stood as her father returned and cleared her throat, "Is Argo alright?"

"The boy will be fine. He's resting in bed." He slowed his pace.

"And mother?" Edea felt her heart clench, "She's never going to look at me the same."

He opened his mouth but couldn't find words that would heal and still be truthful. _What kind of power was this - to cause a mother to hide in the house, afraid of her daughter?_Her father turned from the wind, "We should focus on our next move."

Edea nodded and let him continue to plan things aloud. Her father had always been an anchor in her life, dependable and steady. Now she could sense everything disintegrating around her. The problem stemmed from years ago when she had encountered a woman in desperate need. Edea could still remember the way the woman had stumbled, hands outstretched and all the weight of the world in her eyes. A naïve act of kindness. The burden had been transferred, the poor soul departed.

It felt like she was just starting to climb the ladder of her life when already a fire had been set on the bottom rung. even though her father was strong, Edea knew that even he couldn't be a buffer for this storm.

Only an hour ago Edea had been playing catch-me-if-you-can with the boy up the street. _They had been running across an abandoned field where the tall, dry grass whipped against legs where their boots didn't lend any protection. The crisp air was so cold it burned briefly with each intake before being puffed out; a warm send-off from chapped, pink lips._

_Edea had taken a break to skip stones while Argo pretended to catch glimpses of sea creatures in an oblong pool of water._

"_You know, I've never actually learned how to swim." He had grabbed a long stick to balance himself at the pool's edge._

"_Really? I thought your brother was going to teach you?" She had been taking her time to select the perfect stone; one smooth, flat, and just the right fit for her palm. "It's really fun. We should go swim in the summer out on a real beach."_

"_Maybe."_

"_Well, you never know when you might have to jump in and save someone, right?" That was advice she had taken from her sister. Edea had looked away for only a moment when there was a loud splash._

"_Oh!" She had covered her mouth and looked over to see... Argo, red-faced with laughter._

"_You should've seen the look on your face!"_

"_Not funny!" She had turned away; dread quickly replaced with burning embarrassment._

"_Okay, okay, sorry!" Argo had brushed himself off and tried to sound sincere._

_Not taking him seriously, Edea had turned back to her rock pile in a huff. "I bet you are."_

_Not five minutes later there had been an unsteady cry and then the rough slap of a body thrown against the water's surface. This time she wasn't going to be fooled. In an orderly fashion she rose up to skip her stone only to drop it altogether; panic jolting her heart for a second time. There was no smiling face poking fun at her, just a torso making ripples in the frigid water. He made to call out but ended up gulping water instead. The water was deeper than one would expect, the murkiness of the water disguising the steep drop from the edge._

"_Argo!" Ignoring the brambles in her path, Edea had rushed to the water's edge. In the back of her mind she knew it wouldn't be wise to jump in after her friend, not with a full skirt and layers of clothing on top. How had he gotten so far from shore? Edea ran to what seemed to be the closest spot in the brush where Argo had fallen in and scanned the mud for a stick long enough to pull him back. No luck._

"_Help!" Edea called out with no way of knowing if it would be heard in time. Her house was the closest, maybe someone had seen them pass by earlier. It was past noon and the water was chilly, why had they decided to walk this way? She started to fling off her shawl, coat, gloves, sweater..._

_Argo was waterlogged, floundering, lost and uncertain of how to move his limbs. She caught his eye and it seemed the confusion was contagious. Frozen in mid-breath, time seemed to slow as her heart began to race. A chill, not from the air around her but rather wrought from the centre of her chest, began to envelop her entire being. Her body flowed into movement, seeming to respond to instructions that bypassed her thoughts; it was as if her mind had been cleared of the clutter of sensory input and her arms were not her own. Edea arched her back and reached out for her friend, now below the surface, and willed the power awakened inside to pour out. A wisp of something unearthly flew from her hands and spread across the lake's surface; transfiguring the water from a liquid to a solid state, leaving barely a break in the ice where Argo had sunk._

_Edea knelt and shuddered with the last of the ephemeral energy pulsing away from her but was determined to drag herself if need be. Argo wouldn't be able to survive long under the frigid water. A pair of footsteps thundered past her. One man tested the surface with a leap and then the duo scrabbled over the silver-blue ice to the boy. They worked to pull him out, all of them breathing hard and shivering by the end of it. With that her father had told her to stay where she was as the men rushed Argo home._

Edea shivered, soon the rungs would be consumed and she would be clinging onto rickety stilts.

"We may be able to ask my brother to come meet us with his boat. If only we had more time..." Lost in thought Edea's father smoothed his greying sideburns and continued brainstorming. The words "don't worry, everything will be fine" were too heavy for his tongue.

He turned as Krenai approached, Edea could tell without looking that it was her sister by the soft but still confident press of leather boots on the dehydrated grass. She removed her bare hands from their shelter to tuck overgrown bangs behind her ears and pull her shawl tighter.

Krenai came into view and folded her hands in a respectful manner, as was customary. "Father, mother is asking to see you."

He nodded his thanks to her as he passed. Edea stared at her fingertips. Slender digits, like that of a pianist or harp player, she imagined.

After he was out of earshot Edea's sister continued her approach and stopped in front of her sister, concern stretched across her features. "Father's worried."

Krenai sighed to the sky when the air was left vacant. "Why didn't you tell me?"

_He must have mentioned it before coming back to find me._Edea was used to her older sibling's more straightforward methodology. Nevertheless, it was difficult to explain her secrecy. "I'm sorry."

"Being sorry is not going to fix this." There was no anger, but perhaps a tinge of disappointment - a harder pill to swallow.

"I know, Krenai." Edea scrunched her shawl in her fists and clenched her toes to keep tears at bay. "I didn't want to scare you... it was so long ago and with each year that passed it seemed too late to say something..."

She held her breath and could only manage a glance at Krenai's boots. "I don't know what to do."

When she was little Edea would stay out for hours and imagine suspending snowflakes and sending them back into the clouds. There had been no immediate manifestation of power after her encounter with the dying sorceress, and as time had passed without incident, she had nearly believed that it had never happened. That she was safe. That she could be 'normal.' If she never told a soul, who would know?

"You can't stay here." Krenai held no spite in her words; it was a fact and they both knew it. Bending slightly, she reached down to warm the younger girl's hands. "Edea, you should go to Esthar."

"Esthar? They're nearly as bad as us for witch hunts!" She nearly drew back.

"I'm serious. Many months ago, a friend of mine sent me a news recording from Esthar. The winds may be shifting towards acceptance." At this she stood and helped the young sorceress get to her feet. "There is a new political leader: Adel. She used to work as a magic and creature researcher. Come with me; you can watch it while I help you pack."

.0o0.  
_A segment of static dissipated as images grew sharper through the electronic snow. A man in flowing Estharian apparel stood before a crowd. He cleared his throat and the audience hushed themselves. "Thank you for assembling for this conference. It is good to see many new people taking interest in our governance. Perhaps that is a speech for another time. Allow me get to the highlight of the evening and introduce our latest addition and quickly rising star: Adela Ochimy."_

_A striking woman nodded to the announcer as she strode forward to take the podium. There was another rush of whispers from the spectators, too blurry to distinguish in the film. Regardless, the noise didn't agitate the woman whose heavy robes swept around her feet to lend a touch of refinement to her strong strides. She stood straight, looking daunting rather than rigid. The black-and-white figure took a moment to peer around the room, as if taking stock of the numbers before addressing them._

"_My name is Adel," she corrected in a detached manner, "and yes, I am a sorceress."_

_Undeterred by the resurging murmurs she waved a hand in a slow horizontal movement to call attention back to herself. "I declare this unrestrained. Fortunately I worked with someone who sought not to shun me for this divulgence; and instead fostered the powers granted to me._

"_I believe Esthar as a county must do the same. If this county can lift the veil of secrecy and unfounded fears that have been passed down over generations, then we will leap forward to lead the world."_

_Adel stared directly at the camera, "I'm calling out to those like me. I see a future where we are not chased into the shadows. No, we will be beacons of light and boons to society. I have been working with Doctor Odine to understand the unique brand of magic I command. Our research is leading to possibilities of unlimited potential. Soon we will be travelling to the moon to overcome the beasts there instead of lying in fear on this earth. I see us taming the elements and bowing to none; fortifying our position as a nation. We may even be able to grant access to magic for other people."_

_A smaller rumbling of curiosity rippled through the crowd. She continued, "Imagine what we could do if people could heal themselves or protect their homes from roaming monsters? This is why I have left the scientific community to be part of the body of decision makers; to promote safety, education, and enhancement of existence for everyone."_

_Finally, Adel gave a smile, the first suggestion of emotion, before closing, "Again, I extend a call to my sisters to join their powers with me. To achieve greatness you must think great thoughts. Let us shape the future."_

* * *

_...Now, Vascaroon had spoken the truth when he said that the witch in his possession wished no harm to the clan, however, he had not presented his own intentions. As he led his companion back to the steed he fed her an account poisoned with twisted words. The things spoken in her ear ignited an emotion sent along the bond between them that she had never before experienced. By the time the travellers arrived in the town square flames of magic were flaring around the witch's silhouette. Concerned but trusting in the sage who had yet to betray his vice, the people whom gathered in the settling dusk stood tall though unarmed._

_After dismounting, King Zebalga stepped forward to exchange words on his people's behalf. By reflex she flinched and the movement sparked a series of emotions and reactions from those standing on edge. The whinny of horses coming behind her, the brandishing of swords, and the roaring of pain within her heart and on the faces of individuals falling around her became a blur._

_An arrow flew toward her, and faster than anything she had ever known, the power let loose. It enveloped and transformed the entire clan; mutating the limbs of those closest into unrecognizable sculptures. The special bond in Vascaroon's ownership allowed him to remain unscathed; and for his deeds, she awarded him with an army all his own. Under the full moon's gaze, her power embraced the corpses and their human attributes peeled away to be cast off into the wind. The once scenic town had turned to rubble; the surroundings to desiccated plains of salt. No creatures stirred, save for the Forbidden - the brutalized vestiges of undead creatures with death blows at their disposal. Those tortured souls cursed to a sentence of unrest, are what remains of the once proud, but no less formidable Zebalga clan. They would serve the sage who held the blade of their former king, the Betrayal Sword._

* * *

Cid could only spare a moment to imagine what he looked like making mad dashes down the halls and scrambling around to unlock his door. He really needed to get back into shape. Amazed that he had yet to spill his chicory, a native but poor substitute for coffee in Esthar, he plunked down in front of his computer to do some last minute updates. Cid took a final gulp of his caffeinated beverage, pausing to grimace slightly at the bitter aftertaste. He knew he shouldn't have had a second cup so early in the morning but the consecutive all-nighters he was pulling were wreaking havoc on his common sense.

Odine's team had made great progress after the scientist's discovery of something more potent than the regular monsters they had encountered before; entities Odine classified as "Guardian Forces." Guardian Forces were the perfect bridge between Odine's two main research teams: the GFs appeared to be highly intelligent and able to bestow incredible abilities to certain people, even allowing them to tap into magic ports. Unfortunately for the doctor, they were more self-aware than he had bargained for - making it difficult to conduct tests on his terms; consequently Cid was working to improve accessibility to some of the Deep Sea Research Center's inner chambers. So on top of Cid's own responsibilities of heading the Draw Point team, he was given substantial control over the GF investigations.

He started the safety program to back up his documents, and knowing it would take a few minutes, Cid decided to catch up on his electronic mail. It had been some time since he last gave anything not pertaining to his project a read. There were quite a few messages from Tobias Dobe. Cid had collaborated with the older co-worker on the potential for harnessing alternate energy with vast fields of solar panels earlier in his career but hadn't stayed in touch since all the kafuffle with GFs had started. Many in the scientific community were worried their research would either be abused for military purposes or get cut altogether. It seemed Dobe had been urging people to go to the council meetings for support as he was feeling attacked, personally for being a pacifist and professionally for taking a stand for the environment.

Everyone could feel the tension building to the spilling point; some had already indicated their dissatisfaction with Adel's policies and had packed bags ready to leave whenever Dobe gave the word. An exodus was drawing near. The longer Cid worked under Doc Odine the more he felt the stirrings of disappointment, fear, and the craving to reaffirm that he was going in the right direction.

First of all, he was suffering from the rude awakening that Esthar was as gritty as any place; it had the same political warfare and internal backstabbing except this package came with a cleaner finish to it: a varnish to keep things running smoothly and looking impeccable lest the rest of the world try to spot a flaw.

Secondly, he was becoming increasingly guilt ridden with the projects. He had never considered the morality or consequences with having to experiment on living things before. As an engineer the closest anyone would get to that was calculating the margin of error, worrying if the bridge would hold - if not than you'd end up wasting lives, time, and resources. But this was something else. He was associating too much humanity on the moon monsters and Odine's latest fixation. His brief interaction with Carbuncle had been pleasant although he was left with the impression that the beings were merely allowing humans to entertain the notion that they could be controlled. Cid could have sworn one of the GFs had looked him in the eye and had found him unworthy.

And thirdly, all of this was leading to second guessing. That was a flaw he had grown up with. When that scholarship offer arrived Cid had viewed it as a ticket to freedom. For once the confidence to believe in himself seemed to bloom. He had taken the invitation as a sign that _this_was his calling, his niche in life. The sad conclusion? Bait becomes increasingly foul the longer you're attached to it.

Cid nearly jumped out of his skin at a rapid knock on the door.

Someone in a lab coat, presumably from Odine's growing GF crew stood outside the room with a clipboard in hand. "Mr. Kramer, is the DSRC ready to go?"

He took a breath to regain some composure, "Yes, I've implemented the changes Dr. Odine approved."

"Then get these rooms ready." The man handed him a page from the clipboard.

"Yes, sir. Which specimens should I test today?"

A frown, not a good sign, "You will not be handling the bioassays. Prep the quarantine and then go to the office to get your new orders."

Cid could feel his heart drop, _but this was his project!_He shook his head, "The office?"

"Is there a problem?" The crew member was already turning to leave. "Go quickly; Adel is eager to move on."

"No, sir. And I will, thank you." Cid sunk back into his chair resisting the urge to pull at his hair. The office?

His computer gave a beep of completion. Cid turned back to the screen and closed Dobe's messages. The only thing keeping him from joining Tobias was his involvement with Odine's lab. But now even that was slipping from his grasp. Had he done something wrong? Had they found someone better? Why else would they remove him from the assignment just at the culmination of all his work?

Giving one more swipe at his glasses he shut the computer down and stood up with the instructions in hand. Nothing to do now but accept his fate.

* * *

Despite it being noon and noisy, Laguna let out a yawn without any intention of stifling it. People were always on the go at Mr. Morrid's Café so there was a sort of anonymity afforded by being in the crowd. He'd been up late after spending the day gathering enough funds to pay the remainder of his rent and take him out of town.

"Can I get you a refill?" A pretty blond interrupted his sleepy-eyed reverie.

"Nah, I'm good. Thanks."

"Got a lot on your mind? You've been sitting here for some time now." She smiled to put him at ease as her comment caused him to laugh, a tad embarrassed.

"Well, I gave my keys back to my landlord... and the pub isn't open 'til later," he joked, for the most part.

Laguna leant over to the neighbouring chair and rummaged through the duffel bag housing his meagre belongings. After moving about frequently he'd found it easier to travel light. He extracted the contents of his wallet and frowned at the crumpled notice that he had stuffed in there to deal with later. _Guess Audrey was right..._

_Audrey had straightened her napkin out on the table. "I'm going to help protest Deling's proposal for conscription. He says it's just for the Monterosa Plateau region but I'm absolutely certain he won't stop there."_

_After taking a sip Laguna had wondered aloud whether that would happen to him._

"_Well, they're not forcing intellectuals into the army right now." She had spun her glass between her palms._

_He had given a laugh, "That doesn't help my situation."_

"_You know you really should get involved." She had said over their second round of drinks. "I mean, if you don't choose a side now the government's going to do that for you. And probably make it harder on you."_

"_What? I thought you were all for peace and all that."_

"_Well, yeah. I'm thinking we should take a two-pronged approach though." She pulled her hair away from her eyes. "See, if we can get support from within the army to stand up for what's right, then that'll decrease the amount of bloodshed. Deling's going to send out soldiers to these places regardless of protests or petitions. He's a brute like that. But if we can make sure there are good people within those troops then I'm sure that will help everyone."_

"_Okay, I think I follow you." He had flicked the straw in one of the empty glasses just to watch it spin. "And you're hoping that if enough of his high-ranking guys are level-headed then they may be able to change his tactics. Or at least stop things from getting out of hand."_

"_Bingo."_

The waitress returned with his bill in hand and tilted her head to read the notification. "You're going to join up?"

"Well, doesn't seem like they're giving people much of a choice." He gave a shrug and passed her some coins.

"I didn't think things were getting that serious already."

"Yeah, I've been moving around a lot but they still managed to track me down." Laguna sat back on the cushioned seat. "At least I won't have to worry about paying rent for a while though!"

She picked up his cup and dish. "That's true. I hope they don't actually start any fighting. I can't imagine what it would be like to have to have soldiers patrolling the streets."

"Who knows maybe I'll get sent back here, so it's not all bad, right?" He gave a smile and put some change down for a tip.

"Thanks, you take care, okay?"

He nodded and grabbed his bag. "Oh, hey, do you happen to know where I can find a chocobo carrier?"

"Sure thing, just head to the docks."

It was a nice enough day; blue skies, a few wisps of cloud overhead. Heading to the docks would be convenient for him as he needed to take a ship to Deling City anyway.

"WARK!"

A grin lit up Laguna's face as he spotted one of the chocobos getting ready to leave the station.

"Can I help you, sir?"

"I hope so." Laguna pulled a slip of paper from his back pocket and smoothed it out on the counter. "I wanted to send this to the Malgo Peninsula..."

* * *

_Black is such a passionate colour. It absorbs the potency of the sun. It envelopes my heart. Am I any the worse because of it? No, rather I'm resilient. Like the child being nurtured from its spineless helplessness to a more tried and true warrior. Only through trials can an infant grow and strengthen. I am tested by my ruler, and prevail._

It had been several weeks since he had been appointed to Adel's special task force; working to help secure sorceresses for Odine under Adel's command. Still, why should he stop there? Getting the position was only the first indicator of great things to come. There was an absolute certainty in his mind that he would be at the top, yes, Adel's right-hand man.

_But what good were thoughts without actions? A poor man could sit in a dark lane and believe himself a king in a wealthy land, but that wouldn't change anyone else's views. If you want to get anything in life you have to take it._

"Dieric, why're you being so silent lately? It's our break time!" the large man in front of him waved a hand in front of his friend's face when Dieric didn't shed the glint in his eyes.

"Kort, why should it be unusual for me to have a thought in my mind?"

"Yeah... of course you're always plotting something out. Let's sit with Grear and Fain." Without hesitation Kort drove through the lunchtime crowd so they could sit with their comrades. They four of them had met within Odine labs, each working in a different specialty but needing to communicate their findings on a weekly basis. While Kort remained in the monster analysis team, Grear had gone from investigating craters to Draw Points. Fain and Dieric had met when the GF research was first being conducted but both had since moved on to other areas. As soon as they arrived at the table Kort joined in the talk of theories over what would be done with the land and capital Esthar was acquiring.

Fain was positive Galbadia (the closest thing to a competitor, but nowhere near a threat) would be but a memory in the weeks to come. Though it was becoming evident that things were shifting in that direction, there hadn't been any formal call to arms between the nations. Being in charge of technology in the army he was willing to bet his considerable wages with anyone thinking otherwise. Grear and Kort laughed together. They joked that Fain, with his nimble form, wouldn't be able to enforce them to pay up if they lost.

Grear shook his head, "No offence Fain, but I for one am finding it a bit disconcerting that funds that were supposed to go towards better irrigation systems and scientific research are being scuttled off to the military. Something's up; they wouldn't be investing this much into just land settlements."

Kort gave a laugh, "With talk like that, sounds like you should've joined Dobe and his crew of expats."

The squabble continued until Dieric stood up to leave.

"Hey, where're you off to? Break can't be half over!" Kort's voice was easy to pick out over the din. "Is our company that unbearable?"

"Dieric, you haven't even touched your food." Grear added in the middle of an arm wrestle with Fain.

"Yeah! - Ow!"

With contempt rolling off his form, Dieric hardly had to express in words his distaste in their maturity level. "Unless you three know of any hidden places sheltering gifted children, there's no point in me staying."

"Wow, that smarts. You don't have to be so rough, Grear!" Fain rolled his shoulder before turning in his seat towards Dieric. "But, children? I mean, are there no limits?"

"So, what's your plan? Gonna march right into town, barge into homes, wave some government documents, and spout off to the parents what a great contribution their kids will be?"

"No, I'm going to enlist." He left them stunned with mouths wide open.

Grear shook head. "He certainly has been acting weird lately."

"Huh, come to think of it, I don't even know what Dieric's new job is." Kort stabbed at his meal.

Fain lowered his voice, "I thought he was working directly with Adel. You know, to do a stricter search for 'sisters'."

Kort scratched his head, "Well, I've heard a rumour or two on the type she wants. Do you really think a kid could be a sorceress?"

"Not so loud! I don't want to have people coming after us for starting rumours." The third friend gave a quick look around.

Eager not to let the conversation slip away, Fain leant forward. "Speaking of rumours, did you hear about the one that died?"

"Yeah, but wasn't she old?"

Grear looked between the two, "Seriously, this doesn't bother you at all?"

"Well, we all gotta go some time." Fain gave a shrug.

"You're so weird." Grear shook his head in disbelief. "Aren't you worried about how so many of the sorceresses who have come to Esthar have gone missing?"

Waving a fork full of food, Kort pressed, "Just because we haven't seen them doesn't mean they're actually missing. Besides, weren't you the one who was so concerned about having all the sorceresses gathering in one place before all this?"

"Well, yeah, but isn't it strange how none of the other country's have complained or gotten suspicious about the numbers that were coming here?"

Kort cracked his knuckles, "That's exactly why they had to 'go missing.'"

"That still doesn't explain what happened to them."

"Who knows, maybe she's making an army of witches." Fain said with a snort.

After cleaning off his plate, Kort reclined as much as he could on the stiff bench. "Nah, I bet she's got Odine working to transfer their powers to herself."

"They're people not GFs, Kort." Grear raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"Yeah, but she's already had Odine experimenting on her, haven't you heard?" Fain ducked his head to make sure only his friends could hear, "That's why no one's seen her in person for so long."

"Whoa, but wait, what if Adel's not even alive anymore? What if someone's taken her power and those of the other women?" Grear sat wide-eyed with that revelation.

The biggest of the three barked a laugh, "And do what with it? Odine's only interested in doing research - as crazy as he is, I doubt he wants to take over the world."

"Yeah, you're right..."

**Author's Notes:**

Success: I haz a job! I'll be working on this whenever I have the time and inspiration; I'm not giving up! Actually, one of the reasons it took so long to get this chapter up was because I've been attempting to plan the next three simultaneously. So the next chapter's been started already. And seriously, timelines are gonna be the death of me.  
Speaking of timelines though, I've got a little blip of confusion... According to Anarchist Monthly (2nd issue), "_**President Deling became**__ the president __**after**__ the __**2nd Sorceress War ended**__. To gain support quickly, he carried out the invasion of Timber."_ But, in the game we see Laguna's group wandering the forest to take on the 'almighty Timber army,' and then in a later dream sequence we see them tackling Esthar's army. Sooo... unless Ellone wasn't sending Squall and co back in time in a linear fashion, the Anarchist Monthly has the events backwards? Maybe it was all simultaneous... Rawr. To me it makes sense for him to be trying to take over the east coast _before_ the war is over to block out an invasion from Esthar and to steal resources. I'm assuming they just meant that he attacked Timber to gain support and then become president. Anyway, let's just pretend the person who wrote that article to be biased and or misled because I'm gonna leave Ch. 5 the way it is.  
I've come to the conclusion/realization/sad reality that no one really knows the true timeline for this game... therefore, I've got the freedom to write whatever as long as it fits somewhere within the loose guidelines given. I'll probably post my version of the timeline at some point; it's already a scary beast. With fangs. And possibly rabies.


End file.
